


Doomtale

by Jukingbox



Category: Doom (Video Games), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Dark Fantasy, Drama, Fantasy, Gen, Good versus Evil, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 20:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 139,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9921365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jukingbox/pseuds/Jukingbox
Summary: The Invasion has been stopped.With the mastermind of the invasion dead and Hell's pilfered Argent Energy supply now gone, the Doom Slayer rises victorious once more above the legions of Hell. Having returned to Mars, the Praetorian finds himself betrayed by Doctor Samuel Hayden, who confiscates his energy-laden prize and sends him away to an unknown location.___________________The Underground is free.The barrier has just been broken. The sun rises over a new day in the underground. Thanks to Frisk, a young human child, monsterkind has been freed from its subterranean prison. Hope burns bright as the monsters prepare to leave the underground.That is, until a new visitor is thrown upon their doorstep, and with him, an endless legion of Hellish forces that threaten to destroy both monsters and humanity.It is up to the Doom Slayer and his new allies to find a way to stop this menace before it is too late.





	1. A New Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> Foreword - 
> 
> To prevent confusion with another work, I have elected to rename this story from Underdoom to Doomtale.  
> it works either way, really
> 
> Said work can be found here  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/9275174/chapters/21019793  
> _____________________  
> 

The reddened skies no longer gleamed with Argent light. The once Hallowed Halls of the now desecrated, ruined landscape were once more empty.

From inside the Chasm, across from the Final Temple of the Wraiths, a sound of battle, steel grinding on stone, the thunderous cadence of gunfire, could be heard. The sound, bouncing against the bloody walls of the Temple compound, echoed out into the empty skies of hell. 

And then, a sound of wailing.

The demonic monstrosity wavered, crippled by its many wounds. The beast stumbled and tried desperately to get back up on its feet, but all strength had already failed it. The assailant silently looked on as it tumbled once again to the ground. He had determined that this time, it was not getting back up.

Justice had come

It had come for the thousands upon thousands murdered by her hand, by her self serving, self-arrogated grandeur. It had come to make holy once more the Name of Argent D'Nur, whose Temples and sacred halls had been desecrated by her presence. That justice now slowly stepped forward, a massive, terrible weapon in hand, ready to collect its fee. The conjoined monstrosity's desperate hope to stay alive, to keep fighting, had faded away into nothing, and it could only look on in defeated dread as the Doom Slayer closed in. His footsteps were all that could be heard in the vast chasm, wading through the gore of the fallen. Every wet footstep was as the ticking of a clock, counting down to the final consummation of the Mastermind's ultimate failure. 

At last, that boot came stomping upon its lower mandible, forcing the Demon's jaw down. Pain jolted its eyes open as the Hell Walker's step crushed tooth and gum and bone. He grabbed it by the upper mandible, widening its maw until it was sufficient to house the BFG 9000's muzzle. The mastermind's eyes widened, looking into the fierce eyes of the Unchained Predator as he readied the killing blow, scowling, burning with the unquenchable flame of justice in his soul. Further pain shot through its body as the massive weapon was shoved into its throat in one great thrust, cracking the roof of its mouth, tearing cartilage and shattering more teeth out of the sockets on its way down.

He pulled the trigger.

The weapon shook as he held it, all of its immeasurable power gathering for one final shot. The mastermind's thoughts rushed in circles, the memories of Olivia Pierce quickly flashing in its eyes as they were consumed by the Imperatrix's desperate consciousness, 

Then, with a deafening blast and a flash of green, it was done.

The shot took everything in its trajectory with it: a great swathe of brains, mingled with some bone, cartilage, cybernetics, and stringy entrails, shot out with it, painting the entire back side of the pit with the Mastermind's gore. The nearly ankle high pool of human viscera splashed with a wave against the Doom Slayer's boots as it was added upon with the beast's ruined flesh. Twitching for a moment, its carcass stayed on its feet for a few seconds before finally falling to the floor, dead.

The Praetorian took a second to admire his grisly work. He put a hand under his chin, stowing his weapon into the 4D storage in his suit as he examined the destroyed cadaver. The entire middle section of its brain had been scooped out by the coup de grace, and quite cleanly too. Some of the flesh around the edges of the shot's trajectory glowed somewhat, burning with the intense heat of the BFG's Argent fire. One of its eyes had gone out, and the other stared at the floor, red and lifeless. The limbs lay crumpled upon the bloody ground. The steel components splintered and the flesh torn with the lead and shrapnel of many grenades and gunshots.

He thought, just for a moment, about what he would do now, about how he would continue his endless crusade

Hayden, apparently, had other ideas.

A message popped up on the Doom Slayer's visor as blue arcs of unknown energy coursed throughout his body, pulling him skyward.

"TETHER ACTIVATED."

  
As Hayden dragged him back to humanity's dimension, he could only feel his burning contempt for the enigmatic CEO slowly boil in his brain. Whatever he was up to, he had better not interfere any more with his itinerary. His meddling, his short-sighted goals, his ego and hubris; all had gotten on the Doom Slayer's last nerve. Sure enough, as the tether's arcing blue energy wore off, there he was, in all his menacing, metallic hue. His welcome meant little to the Doom Slayer, who listened in annoyance as he congratulated him.

"You've won. It's over. You stopped the invasion and closed the portal... but it's come at a price: Argent, VEGA... this entire operation."

The only thing on the Marine's mind was escaping the tether's pull so he could destroy the arrogant cyborg, but even he was powerless against its sway. He listened only begrudgingly to Dr. Hayden.

"You see, I've watched you work - come to understand your motivation. You think the only way is to kill them all - leave nothing behind... and you may be right."

For one shining moment, there was hope in the Doom Marine's mind that perhaps Hayden had learned a lesson from all of this; that the pursuit of Argent energy was far too dangerous, and that it was a venture that wasn't worth the risk of killing everyone involved. That hope was extinguished almost the second it emerged as Samuel continued.

"... But we can't just shut it all down. Without Argent energy, it will be worse. I don't expect you to agree...." The contempt harbored by the Marine towards the Cyborg burned instantly into intense hatred as he pilfered the Crucible, snatching it away from him with a magnetic pull. "...but with this..." Hayden continued, holding up the hellish artifact "We can continue our work! I am not the villain in this story. I do what i do because there is no choice."

A loud automated voice over the intercom interrupted him. "RE-ROUTING TETHER COORDINATES... COMPLETE."

"Our time is up. I can't kill you, but I won't have you standing in our way." Hayden said as he activated a hidden power from the artifact, revealing a large, luminous blade of Argent energy evenly inscribed with hellish runes. it hummed ominously as Hayden brandished it in ill-earned triumph. With that, he bid farewell. "Until we see each other again."

Then, in a moment, the Doom Slayer felt himself jerked upward, helpless to resist as the tether pulled him up and away to an unknown destination.  
_____________________________

"Everyone..." Asgore said, addressing the motley crew around him. "This is the beginning of a bright new future. An era of peace between humans and monsters... Frisk, I have something to ask of you. Will you act as our ambassador to the humans?"

With a smile and a nod, Frisk replied "Of course I would!"

"Yeah! Frisk will be the best ambassador! And I, the Great Papyrus, will be the best mascot! I'll go make a good first impression!" With that, the skeleton ran off, leaving everyone else comically bewildered.

"Welp, someone's gotta keep him from getting into trouble. See you guys!" Sans said, waltzing off.

"Man, do I have to do everything?!" Undyne gave chase after her old friend. "Papyrus, wait up!"

Alphys couldn't miss out on whatever escapades the two were about to get into. "Hey Undyne!! Wait up!!" she said before scurrying behind them.

Asgore was left both bemused and confused in the wake of everyone's running footsteps. "Whoops... Uh, should I do something?" The only response he got was from a somewhat irritated Toriel, glaring at him in annoyance. With nothing else to do for the moment, he decided to follow the others. "Well, gotta go!" he said before running off to join the other monsters.

Left in peace with Frisk, Toriel ruminated on their current situation. "It seems that everyone is quite eager to set off. Frisk, you came from this world, right? So you must have a place to return to, do you not? What will you do now?"

Frisk pondered for a moment. The answer as on the tip of her tongue.

A deafening blast and a blinding flash of blue light from the palatial entrance brought it out as a frightened scream. The blast shot past them and rolled over the mountains round about Ebbott. rumbling with the sound of distant thunder.

The noise nearly toppled the two over, child over adoptive mother. The former clung to the queen as her legs re-assumed their footing. Toriel could feel her little fingers grasping her tightly through her gown, hands shaking and clawing their way up, The little girl panted and looked into the darkened door with wide, terrified eyes. The sight evoked such deep compassion in Toriel, who stood up, ran her hands through Frisk's hair, and quietly reassured her safety with an embrace and hushed whispers.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, it's okay..."

"T-Toriel, what was that?!"

"Hush, my child, it will be alright."

"B-but what w-was-"

"shh, shh..."

Toriel's own fear kept her from looking into the tunnel for a few seconds. She knew not what could make such clamor but that which was diabolical. A monster's power could only be so strong. Few boss monsters had the power the shake a mountain with such might. Everything was up in the air, which now carried only the sound of the wind bristling past the pine trees that stood as silent sentinels to the door. Toriel saw nothing, but still her eyes were fixed on the door. She could not answer Frisk. There was no telling what had caused the uproar, and that uncertainty amplified the sounds of each chirping bird and rustling pine needle with silent dread.

The clamor was enough to get everyone back up to the top. Their labored, panting breath could be heard ascending the grassy mountainside.

"Toriel!" Asgore's panting robbed him of speech. "Toriel, what was that noise? we could have heard that from the other side of the mountain!"

"Oh, we could have heard that from the other side of the range." Sans rested with hands on his knees. "We saw a light too."

Undyne's breath was notably less laborious than anyone else'. "Yeah, we all saw it. Do you know what it wa-"

"Quiet..."

"wha-?"

"I said quiet."

Toriel's eyes were deadpan, but wide. Concentration belied every twitch of every muscle in her face, which continued to stare into the darkness.

"Everyone follow me."

The light from the entrance only went so far. it wasn't long before everyone's footsteps shrunk, and hands held each other in darkness. Light from the anterior hall could be seen, but only just barely.

Toriel spoke just loudly enough to overpower the footsteps. "Who has my hand?"

"I-I do."

"let go, Alphys."

"Okay, b-but I can barely-"

Light erupted from the Queen's hands in the form of arcane flame, dancing about in short, straight columns. She turned back, her brow furrowed a little bit. Everyone's blood ran cold at her blackened stare. They knew what she was saying with those eyes.

Arm yourselves.

Asgore's trident shimmered in the glow of Toriel's fire; a symphony of amber and carmine. Hues of azure and cyan joined their chorus with the glow of Undyne's spear, Papyrus' clubs, and Sans' eye. The light from the Throne Room began to trickle in, shining against the screen of Alphys' phone, which slowly assumed the form of a firearm, as did Frisk's. Armed as they were, no one, not even the brazen Captain of the Guard knew what to feel. Perhaps it was all an overreaction, and nothing of consequence was to blame for the din. Perhaps it was two monsters sparring, or maybe an accident from the Core.

Or perhaps all this caution was warranted. Perhaps there was someone waiting for them. 

The very thought was enough to bring sweat to almost everyone's brow, and volume to their breath.

Toriel halted. just around the corner was the Throne room. She peeked around, her fingers flexing, her mouth shut. her nose doing all her breathing, quietly, rhythmically.

 ...

Nothing

She let out a restrained breath, releasing the flames from her hands, chuckling a little. "Oh dear... at ease, everyone.."

Sighing resounded in the corridor, and the light of each person's armament was snuffed. Some shook their heads. Some laughed a little. Frisk was still quiet.

"Toriel, are you sure nothing's in there?"

"Oh of course, my child. I'm sure someone just had some sort of accident. We ought not to leave them be. Undyne, you were the Captain of the Guard, correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I think it may have come from the core.. Perhaps you could call some of the guard down to see to the matter?"

"You got it." Among the group's whispers, her radio crackled, and her voice, still somewhat hushed, blended in.

"See, there's nothing to worry about, my child. Come, take a look."

The child stepped forward, toward the projection of light upon the floor, spilling in from the throne room.

Than a shadow covered it.

The Child covered her mouth, muffling a shriek that shook everyone into sudden panic. They all saw the Shadow rise up into the door frame's silhouette. Not a word was spoken as it grew taller and taller. They could see the contours of armor, large pauldrons covering shoulders, a collar surrounding a round helm, which, as it it turned to the side, revealed a somewhat opaque visor which refracted what dull light came through, casting a sparkle onto its own shadow.  It stopped, paused for a few seconds, and retreated.

Everyone was as still as stone. No one dared even breath.

Asgore could just barely summon the courage to speak. "Toriel... what's the plan?"

The queen, lifted her open palm towards him, eyes nearing the edge of the doorway. 

Nothing again. The armored creature was hidden.

"it is concealed.... it may hope to ambush us."

Everyone armed themselves once more. No one cared for stealth. They knew that whatever was in there had already been alerted to their presence. in theri hearts, they already knew what Toriel was planning.

"We will steal that hope away.... all be ready on my mark. We will overcome him at once."

Sans curled his fingers in a cobalt shroud, his eye burning with similar hue. 

Alphys turned a dial on her phone. A display reading its power per shot skyrocketed.

"Three..."

Undyne bared her terrible fangs.

The King clenched his trident. 

"Two..."

Papyrus twirled his clubs about.

Frisk nervously looked upon her makeshift firearm.

"ONE!"

Like beasts pouncing upon prey, they all erupted from the door. Eyes went to and fro, seeing nothing but stone, flower, and vine, all painted by a faint light from the outside. Pillars in the walls became great alcoves, potential hiding places to which everyone's eyes darted.

Sans's azure eye darted about. "i can't see him... Pap?"

"Me neither."

Asgore felt a rush of protective anger overtake him for what must have been the first time in many ages. "SHOW YOURSELF!" he boomed. "COME OUT AT ONCE!"

But nobody came.

Out of the corner of her eye, Undyne could see a faint green glow peeking out from one of the columns. She had not time to address it before its source jumped out from its hiding place, taking aim at the group.

"LOOK OUT!"

She threw a spear at it as everyone turned to. A powerful, armored hand caught the blue pike, letting go of the fore end of a massive weapon. it seemed to be a kind of gun, albeit one that could easily outweigh any of the group by itself, to say nothing of its wielder, who dropped the spear, but kept the weapon down, several open, glowing ports on the side and center of its frame illuminating his legs.

Undyne already had another spear poised, as the others had their power trained on him. "DROP THE GUN!"

Indeed he did drop it, though it seemed to be more out of confusion than submission. It threw up several sizable rocks and sent a small shock through the ground as it dropped with a low _thud_.

"State your name!!" Asgore's voice echoed throughout the room in regal grandeur, commanding silence from all others. **"State your name immediately!"**

The man in armor just kept staring. He took a step towards the group, all of which flinched at his approach. He raised a hand, palm open, before him. He waited until everyone saw before lowering it slowly.

Everybody was still.

Once more, he raised his hand and lowered it. He was requesting them to stand down. With each lowered weapon and extinguished arcane light, he took another step. And another, and another until the light from the partially open ceiling cast itself upon him. Thick, rounded plates of stark green armor lay atop brown padding. His frame was broad and imposing, towering in the center of the Throne Room. His features were well hidden by his helmet's visor, clouded in bluish white.

Such vagary did not sit well with Toriel. "Remove your headgear!" she demanded. "Let us see you!"

Now, the man raised both of his hands. One would think he was surrendering as they rose above his head, then behind. He did not stop his approach as he went, sending the whole group aback for a pace. Slowly, those powerful hands clasped something on the back of the helm, releasing some sort of latch that let out a slight hiss. Gingerly, he grabbed the sides of his helmet, pulling it off and continuing to approach. As he drew close, he let the helmet fall to the floor.

Everyone held their tongue as the it came off to reveal a man, stark and stern faced with short cropped brown hair sitting neatly on his head. Two bold, fiery, blue eyes stared out into the group from within a heavy, brass brow. His laugh lines ran deep. His cheeks and jaw seemed like carved stone. He was a human. A large, imposing human clad in formidable armor, and evidently armed to the teeth. What caught more eyes than his massive frame or his weapon was his expression. One brow was raised and the other drawn down. His gaze met each set of eyes directly, each time getting a slightly different reaction.

The Fish woman seemed emboldened.

The tall skeleton shook, but poised himself to strike. His shorter partner did not move.

The Lizard woman cowered, hands jumping to her weapon, but not drawing it.

The two goat like creatures stared him down with all the decorum of royalty, and his stare did little to shake it.

A child hid behind the smaller of the two. Human too. She retreated from his gaze the second it met hers. That softened his heat considerably, and it showed as his brow relaxed.

What were these things?

"Sans, what do we do?"

"I don't know, Pap."

The lizard woman's eyes darted between him and the fish. "U-Undyne, wait! Don't-!"

The man turned towards a sudden outburst of blue light. This "Undyne" had another spear pointed at him, mere inches from his face.

"You listen here. When the King and Queen tell you to speak, you speak-"

The man's eyes narrowed. Bold defiance shone from his face.

"Undyne, please!" By now, Asgore had discerned that this man had no ill intent, but that could all easily change if the Captain could not restrain herself. "Let the man-"

"My name is Undyne, Captain of the Royal guard. You will tell us your name..."

The Lizard shook all the more in fear. "U-Undyne! Just let him-!"

The sternness in his face slowly melted into smug confidence.

"... _or I will pry it from your dying brea-!_ "

At once, he grabbed her spear under the head, wrenched his hand, and broke it, all in one swift, smooth motion. He did not sever eye contact with the warrior woman, whose burning eyes froze over in bewilderment. He released the spearhead, letting it drop with a loud clank upon the stony floor. His coy expression beamed into a smug grin, and he lowered his hand, just as before, this time taking the broken spear handle down with his fingertips. He winked, walked back to his discarded gear, donned his helmet, picked up his weapon, and slung it over his shoulder before walking towards the exit. The gun seemed to vanish into thin air behind his back as he made his way out.

Undyne spoke up in the ensuing pause, her face still cemented in a disbelieving stupor.

"He broke my spear...."

Toriel attempted to intercept him, the others giving chase. "Sir, we're glad to know you harbor no ill will towards us, but we must be further acquainted. Can you at least tell us your name?" He ignored her as he advanced towards the hall overlooking New Home, pulling out a large, belt fed rifle seemingly out of nowhere and half shouldering it. "Are you on the lookout for something?"

He nodded in affirmation, continuing his advance.

Alphys' hushed voice was wrought with confusion and concern. "The guy can pull huge guns out of nowhere! What could he possibly be looking out for?"

"Whatever it is, he better look out for me!" Undyne interjected. "He's not going to pull a stunt like that and get away with it!"

Asgore attempted to restrain his hot-blooded pupil. "Undyne, please. Listen now, rematch later."

"What do you mean 'listen?' he hasn't even said anythi-"

"Wait, hold on..." Sans seemed far more stoic than usual as he spoke. "They stopped."

The Marine halted as he set eyes on New Home, somewhat perplexed by its bleak appearance. He slowly let his arms down to his sides, rifle pointing lazily downward as he took in the sight. He could see a myriad of creatures roaming the streets, going about their everyday lives. They all looked so different, just like the odd fellows he had just encountered, who even now, piled up all around him, some of them switching between facing him and facing the teeming city below. None of the denizens of this city seemed to notice their observers on the balcony of Asgore's palace. The unknown warrior put a hand to his chin, trying to make sense of it all. Where exactly was he? This certainly wasn't any pit in Hell he'd ever seen, and as far as he could tell, he was the only Human here, other than the small child now staying close to the goat-woman. It was definitely the strangest conundrum he'd ever encountered. Deep in the back of his mind, some suspicion of Hell tricking him again almost simultaneously appeared and disappeared. As far as Demon tricks go, fabricating an entire realm or kingdom (or whatever this was) did not seem to fit a demonic modus operandi. If Hell had anything to do with any kind of domain, it would be absorption, not mimicry. He turned to face his new acquaintances and shrugged his shoulders, trying to communicate his utter confusion.

"You don't know where this is, do you?" Sans asked.

The warrior shrugged again and nodded his head.

Asgore then interjected in an attempt to elucidate the circumstances to his obviously bewildered guest. "Perhaps I can introduce our new friend to his environment. Human, what you're looking at is my kingdom." The man looked down once more upon the polymorphic throng below.

Quite a Kingdom.

"My name is Asgore, King of the Underground. You see, you and Frisk here are the only humans here right now. Everyone else here is what you would call a 'monster.' I am, Toriel is, and so is almost everyone you're looking at."

The man nodded attentively.

The king then issued him a question he was sorely unprepared to answer. "Now, what is your name? I don't believe we've heard it yet."

A silent chuckle and a shake of his head were the only reply he gave.

The taller skeleton seemed much more amicable than the rest of this company. "Oh no need to be so shy! Go on, tell us your name! After all, I need to know what to call my new friend, don't I?"

Only a few minutes and this creature was calling him friend.

Strange place indeed.

Giving a worried smile, the man continued to shake his head, making motions with his hand across his throat. This didn't deter the others from piping in, starting with Frisk.

"My name's Frisk, if that helps." the child spoke meekly, but unabashed. He looked down at the little girl, standing closely to her mother figure. She was by no means this woman's actual child, but the bond between the two was evident. "It's okay, I was scared when i first got here too."

Said motherly figure added her voice to the slew of friendly inquisition. "And I'm Toriel! I'm sorry for not properly introducing myself earlier. We were all quite afraid of you at first. You'll have to forgive us for our.. rash actions against you."

He gave her a thumbs up, indicating he held no grudges. These people could not harm him if they tried. There was no reason here to harbor vendettas.

"Ah, wonderful! I assure you, if you cannot return to wherever you came from, we'll be glad to accept you here! Granted there's still plenty of details to iron out, and with certain recent developments, there's a lot for us to explain, but I think, for the moment, we'd be more than happy to welcome you here!"

Then, another one of the odd "monsters" spoke up. "M-My name's Alphys! I-I'm the royal scientist here. N-nice to meet you!"

So this was the Kingdom's foremost authority on the sciences: A quivering young woman, lizard like in form, and trembling from head to toe, stuttering on nearly every syllable. it was all quite endearing. He waved just a little at the diminutive girl garbed in the white lab coat, his worried smile still persisting. "That suit looks pretty advanced... maybe I can borrow it for research some time?"

Borrow it? Certainly she jested. He gave Alphys a quizzical look, cocking his head sideways again, smirking somewhat.

"W-WAIT I mean, not right now, um, and uh, I don't mean you have to, I-I mean... You do have other clothes right?"

... this girl needed work

"Heh heh, I-it's not like I wanted you to, uhhh..."

Making her nervous was pretty easy to get a kick out of. He kept smirking at her, folding his arms and shaking his head.

"O-oh God, I'm such a mess."

Amidst some friendly chuckles from the others, he heard another voice consoling her.

"Oh, take it easy, Al!" Undyne smiled and hugged her companion in an attempt to cool her friend's easily quailing nerves. "I think he knows what's up."

He turned towards her. Just a few moments ago, she threatened him with deadly audacity. This would be interesting.

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry about earlier. name's Undyne!"

Already a kind apology. He smirked at her again. Perhaps she wasn't as bullheaded as he thought

She met that smirk with one of her own, sharp fangs jutting out of a toothy grin. "Oh ho, I see that! You think you're so tough, don't ya?!

Perhaps not.

"Fifty G says I can pin you with my hands tied behind my back!"

Definitely not

_"Undyne..."_

"okay Asgore...."

"Name's Sans." The smiling, smaller skeleton's chilled, calm voice got the tall warrior to look down and give another nervous wave. "And uh, yeah, that's about it."

"And then of course you have his amazing brother! The Great Papyrus!" The affable skeleton rested an arm atop his carefree brother's head. "I think you and I will be the best of pals!" The Marine could only help but shake his head, smile, and raise a fist towards his newfound, skeletal friend, who timidly reciprocated his gesture. Bumping the man's fist, he exclaimed "WOWEE! We even have our own secret handshake!"

Between all this commotion, the Doom Slayer could not help but think away all possibilities of Hell being involved in his newly developing situation. In all of the ploys he had seen demons use, none of them even remotely used any kind of feigned, let alone real, friendship. Even in their treacherous deal with him, they never concealed their greed and rancor towards the people and deities of Argent D'Nur. Whatever this was, wherever Hayden had sent him to, he was confident that the wicked denizens of the underworld had nothing to do with it.

"Alright, alright, everyone!" Toriel giggled. "No need to overwhelm him, now!" She turned her attention to the armor clad man, noticing his confused, but nonetheless friendly expression. "See now? there's nothing to be afraid of!"

Everyone started piping in, encouraging the enigmatic warrior to divulge his name. His expression wavered somewhat, still retaining an air of confusion and worry. As they continued to ask him, he couldn't help but feel more and more worried about his answer, and soon enough, his smile vanished. They grew quieter as his expression became more stern and tense. Finally, after some deliberation on his part, he pulled out an audio log. Alphys was first to inquire after it.

"What's that? is it some kind of recording?"

He turned away from them with a hand under his chin after setting the device down. The recording thereon began to play. They all jumped a little upon hearing the deep, growling voice that emanated from the small recorder. Both the voice and the subject it addressed chilled everyone to the bone, and all other sounds in the chasm of New Home were drowned out of their ears as they listened to the horrible tale.

**"IN THE FIRST AGE, IN THE FIRST BATTLE, WHEN THE SHADOWS FIRST LENGTHENED, ONE STOOD."**

All eyes fastened on the Marine.

**"BURNED BY THE EMBERS OF ARMAGEDDON, HIS SOUL BLISTERED BY THE FIRES OF HELL AND TAINTED BEYOND ASCENSION, HE CHOSE THE PATH OF PERPETUAL TORMENT. IN HIS RAVENOUS HATRED HE FOUND NO PEACE, AND WITH BOILING BLOOD, HE SCOURED THE UMBRAL PLAINS SEEKING VENGEANCE AGAINST THE DARK LORDS WHO HAD WRONGED HIM."**

Notwithstanding the many questions now being added upon with every passing  second, the most pressing one, where this man had come from, had been at least partially answered.

It was no comfort or relief to anyone.

**"HE WORE THE CROWN OF THE NIGHT SENTINELS, AND THOSE THAT TASTED THE BITE OF HIS SWORD NAMED HIM..."**

One more answer waiting for them all, but now they almost dreaded to hear it.

**"THE DOOM SLAYER."**

A worried, tense atmosphere washed over everyone as the menacing voice closed its blackened sermon. Silence prevailed the group until it was broken by Asgore.

"' _Doom Slayer_ '... that is your name?"

He raised one hand to silence them and pointed once more to the device. From it sprang a massive three-dimensional database. Many different files came up at once in layers, all bearing the title "Slayer's testaments."

Alphsy meekly walked toward the hologram, reading it to herself. "UAC... what does that....'United Aerospace Company....' so these guys gave you this?"

The Slayer paused, then nodded.

"hmm..." her eyes sped along each entry, skimming for what important details she could pass on. it was hard not to get hooked on stray passages and sentences as she went, the subject material getting wilder and wilder with each page.

"What's it say, Al?"

"it says... it says he's been in Hell for ages-"

"What does it mean by 'Hell?'"

It pained the Preator somewhat to hear them worry so much. Theirs was so much more of a gleeful world than his.

"Exactly what is sounds like Sans.... there's talk of demons all over this.... he's been in their realm, killing them for centuries! He even led a group of knights at one point...The demons trapped him... found a way to entomb him. They've had him sealed for ages before this 'UAC' dug him up...."

 

"This is... not what we all expected...." Toriel was visibly off-put by the Doom Slayer's unorthodox, and frankly disturbing history. Not hiding her fear of what this man was revealed to be capable of doing, she asked him "Now... you don't mean any hostility to us right? Absolutely no rancor towards us?"

The Doom Slayer shook his head, turned toward the queen, and warmly smiled, patting her on the shoulder. Although no one made a sound, every face seemed to slowly drain the tension within away as they realized once and for all that this man was no trouble to them.

"Wow..." Alphys was both astonished and intimidated in equal and profound measure. "I wasn't expecting your background to be so intense... for what you've been through though, you seem pretty relaxed and trusting."

Undyne couldn't help but stand in awe. Answering her friend, she said "I think he just knows he has nothing to fear here." Turning to the Hell-walker, she addressed him with newfound enthusiasm. "... isn't that right?"

The Doom Slayer nodded.

"I mean, aside form me of course! You've got plenty of reason to be scared of me, buster"

"Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Asgore's voice was wrought with near paternal care and caution. "He still needs to know a bit more about our situation, what with the barrier being broken. We also have to prepare to inform the underground. We don't want everyone pouring out at once now do we? Now of course, I'm not sure if... 'Doom Slayer' should be our friend's new name... Sir, are you not sure there's nothing else we can call you?"

The Marine simply shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what other name they could use. All other names had been lost to him, and for eons, the only names he knew were those given him by his prey.

"What?" Undyne asked. "I think his name's just fine the way it is!"

Papyrus piped up, eager to further familiarize himself with the armor clad Praetor. "How about 'THE GREAT DOOMSTER?!'"

"That sounds like a 'HELL'luva name, Pap!"

"SANS, DON'T DO THIS TO ME. NOT NOW."

Alphys joined in. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'SIR NIGHTGUARD'... you know since.. since it says he was A Night guardian or-or something.. uhh...."

"How about just 'Doomguy?'" Frisk asked. Everyone was silent for just a moment before Sans spoke up.

"Good call, kiddo! My vote's on 'Doomguy!' Who else?"

"I can dig it." Undyne replied.

"S-sure why not?"

"Better name than I can come up with!"

"Yes Dreemurr, we know... So, Mr... 'Doomguy...' would you be interested in coming inside the palace? We can discuss your future with us and the humans there."

"And get some grub while we're at it?" Sans asked.

"Why of course! I could bake us all something delightful to eat!"

"I'm sure no one's got anything against a good cup of tea?"

"Not me!" Frisk replied as everyone set off for the palace. "C'mon Doomguy, let's go!" She said, gripping the confused Marine by the wrist.

As the group made their way to the palatial hall, The Doom Slayer couldn't overthrow the dumbfounded state of mind that continued to grip his every thought. Friendliness and courtesy this profuse felt almost intimidating to him. Just a few hours ago he was ripping demons apart in his quest to free the wraiths. He had brought the Barons of Hell to their knees. He had conquered the Hell Guards and the cyber-demon. He had destroyed the unified being of Olivia Pierce and the Aranae Imperatrix. Now he was preparing to dine on baked goods and tea, holding company with a young child and a motley group of odd creatures he had never seen or heard of before, each and every one of them seeming to overflow with amicable personality and cheer.

The whole situation was so thoroughly odd that he began to wonder if he was lost in slumber somewhere between dimensions. Perhaps Hayden meant to send him here so that upon his return, there would presumably be less reason to crush his head in. "Oh, but I sent you to such a wonderful place!" he would say. "Surely you have no reason to kill me!"

They entered in through a different passageway than the side exit he had taken. It led to a comfortable little abode, not too different from an average family home. Sight was clouded by thought. Was any of this really happening? The sound of small talk mingled with the wooden creaks of tables and chairs being set up. The queen was preparing herself in the kitchen, Frisk helping her with cutlery and ingredients. Undyne, Alphys, and Papyrus all sat together, laughing as Undyne locked the other two by their heads in a display of roughhousing. Sans pilfered a bottle of some sort of red rink or condiment from the fridge, taking off the cap and drinking it wholesale. A kettle hissed as Asgore set its bottom alight with magical flames.

Was this all really happening? The Marine had hardly perceived the time. How long had he stood there in the middle of the room? it felt like mere minutes, though the clock, hanging over the threshold, showed otherwise upon inspection. Mind consuming contemplation was such an easy trap to fall victim to

"Yo Doomguy!" Undyne called out. "C'mon doofus, Quit standing around! Pap saved you a seat!"

Taking a deep breath and entering the room, he could only think of one thing anymore amidst the wonderful aromas of the King's tea and the Queen's cooking: how long had it been since he had actually eaten something?  
___________________________


	2. Acclimation

The wooden chair creaked a bit as 320 pounds of muscle and armor bore down upon it. The Doom Slayer looked down to make sure the chair wouldn't give out from under him, then looked all around again, taking in his surroundings and trying in futility to make sense of it all. From the warm, fiery hearth, to the well polished wood grain on the table, everything here bore such an endearing charm. He had gotten over how foreign it was, but he hadn't gotten over that sense of displacement, that feeling of general unease which lingered in his steely heart. He felt he did not belong here, no matter how familiar it was or wasn't. It wasn't something he could hate or destroy. it represented something he had lost eons ago, something he was sure he would never attain again.

Peace.

Luckily (in a way), he did not have that peace for long. Something hard hit his helmet, rapping on it repeatedly.

"Hello? Earth to Doomguy!"

The Doom Slayer turned to his right to see Undyne's fist reaching back from his helm. She wore a warm smile, as did her friends. "Helmet off at the table, dude!"

Manners. Politeness. Not exactly alien, but definitely estranged. Slowly, the Marine reached back, groping at the back of the helmet and pulling on the clasp. It felt so odd to take it off again so soon. The past day or two saw him departed from it more than it had ever been in the many years he wore it. That same, raw boned face revealed itself, showing now no smugness or sternness, but uncertainty. The Marine remained awkwardly silent.

Alphys leaned forward a bit. "You okay? You sure don't talk much."

The Man shrugged his shoulders, barely keeping eye contact.

"Okay well, that's alright. You just look a little rattled is all."

He felt Papyrus' arm wrap around his shoulder. He flinched just a bit, clenching his left fist out of view. Papyrus recoiled a little, his innocence clouding his perception. "Oh relax, I wasn't gonna hit you!" he said with a smile. "That's Undyne's thing! Isn't it Undyne?"

Undyne was better able to catch the Praetor's expression. That flinch was not defensive, but offensive. It faded quickly enough that it seemed to be under control, but Undyne wanted to be sure.

"Hey..." She made direct eye contact with him. "You seem just a little on edge. Are you gonna be alright? Can you tell us what's wrong?"

The Praetor hesitated. This was another aspect of peace he wasn't sure how to process. Comfort and quietness was one thing, but talking to someone? Sharing darling little feelings over tea? It sounded quite asinine the more he thought about it. One look in Undyne eyes however, was enough to rebuke him. There was genuine concern being expressed here. No need for arbitrary undermining.

He exhaled through his nose, tucked his lips, flung a hand into the air and shook his head before reaching into a back pouch to pull out the same Data dossier. The holo display once again garnered its fair share of oohs and aahs. He scrolled through the several tabs, trying to reach the topic faster, as the longer the dossier was opened, the more attention it attracted. Sans now took his seat next to Alphys, and Asgore set down his kettle to join in. Just great. More ogling eyes looking at things that don't belong here.

At last, he found what he was looking for. The UAC had many probe images of Hell. The Doom Slayer did his best to circumvent the more macabre images. No one needed to see the piles of gore or the tortured, flayed bodies inundated in rivers of blood. The arcing hell energy flying between floating rock formations hovering above gargantuan skulls and cliffs was enough. Everyone gazed on the terrible majesty of the Umbral Plain, taken in both horror and wonder. It wasn't long before Toriel and Frisk, empty plates and bowls of food in hand, came to see just what everyone was so preoccupied with.

"Oh my...' The queen's eyes squinted to get a better look at the images of the Titan's skull from Behind Sans and Alphys. "All those bones... how long were you there?"

The Doom Slayer just shook his head, brow scowling just a little. He never intended the audience to be so big.

"I remember the codex saying something along the lines of eons." Alphys adjusted her glasses a little.

Papyrus, ever doting, once again put his arm around the old Scourge. "Being in a place like that doesn't sound so nice. I'm guessing it's just made you nervous? Has it been hard on you?"

Oh you've got to be kidding

The Doom Slayer's face cracked wide open with a huge smile and a palm covering his forehead, laughing silently. He shook his head again, waving the other hand in Papyrus' face.

"So... you're saying it didn't scar you or anything?"

The Marine kept shaking his head, still grinning in condescension.

Undyne gave the Praetor a cynical smirk. "Sounds like someone's just trying to sound tough."

At once, the Marine shook himself of levity. They needed to know, at least if they were going to understand his bewilderment. He cleared his throat, picked up the device, and held it behind him so that the display faced the entire table head on. He kept scrolling through the pictures. craggy labyrinths of stone, bone, and skewered, dried remains. A room full of hanging steel cages with dried bones dangling from the rusted steel bands. An aerial shot of a canyon, red lightning arcing overhead between charcoal clouds sitting on the edge of a sanguine sky. A corridor lined with jagged, rusted iron cages brimming with hellfire and lined with the skulls of the damned.

And then a sweet little living room

Asgore's living room. The projection had been turned off.

The Doom Slayer pointed to it with an open palm.

Asgore scratched his head a little. "I'm not sure i'm catching on."

Looking a bit frustrated, the Doom Slayer pulled the BFG back out and laid it on the floor in front of him, followed by his Plasma rifle, break action shotgun, Light machine gun, and all the other weapons his suit's storage held, including the chainsaw. Up until that point, everyone had their suspicions, high or low, that perhaps the muted man was embellishing his silent story. Lead a group of knights? Rampaged through Hell itself? It all sounded so far fetched until now. They could see the scorch marks on each muzzle, the dried blood caking the blade and housing of the saw, the worn paint, the live ammunition.

It was enough to drive the point home for just about everybody.

Frisk stepped up to him as he put each arm back into storage. "You're not used to life like this are you?"

Just before holstering his pistol, he turned to the child, giving a single nod. The sidearm vanished, and the Slayer just stared forward, not sure what to "say" next. What could ever really be done? The child hit the nail on the head. Everyone at the table found it hard to find the right words.

"Oh dear..." Toriel looked at the Praetor, and then back down to her dish. "Well, I know this may take some getting used to. I can only imagine how out of place you feel here, but don't let that stop you from trying, or from letting us help you along the way." She lowered her dish onto the table with a gentle smile. "Frisk dear, would you set the table real quick? I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier."

"Got it."

"It's just an appetizer to get everyone going for the main course, and that will be ready in just a few minutes. Here."

The Marine turned his chair back around. Whatever this was, it smelled absolutely intoxicating. Frisk gently moved his helmet to put a plate in front of him.

Toriel saw his expression change from confused and forlorn. to ravenously hungry in seconds, giggling as she saw his eyes become saucers with every whiff his nose took. "It may take a while, but we'll do our best to make you feel welcome. Here, let me serve you up."

A moderate portion of some sort of white mush, underlain by buttery greens he couldn't identify, landed on his platter. He just stared at it for a second, like some sort of puzzle he had to solve, having no idea how to proceed.

"It's okay, just dig in!"

It was definitely fresh out of the oven. The heat nearly scalded him, but the taste was absolutely amazing. Demon blood had been his bread for so long. it almost tasted odd in comparison, but something about it, strange as it was, seemed to ring true. It just felt right, and that much couldn't yet be said for much of what he had seen and felt so far.

"Do you like it?"

The Man gave her an affirmative nod. Hesitantly, but with solid affirmation. Every second, the simple appetizer's taste became less of an appealing aberration and more of a familiar embrace. He had long forgotten it, but he had missed this kind of thing.

"Oh, that's wonderful dear! I'll be right back out in a minute with supper. Frisk, would you come help me get the main dish ready?"

The child followed her, while everyone else at the table took their own little portion of the simple appetizer. The Marine let it sit in his mouth for a while, re-familiarizing himself with a taste that wasn't rife with exsanguinated Iron. The other's words slowly slurred out of his ears. He was too busy letting it marinate, letting it catch up with him. Everything else so far had jarred him with its sudden shift from the hellish to the heartfelt, but this, different as it was, did not shake him nearly as much.

Some conversation managed to sneak past his occupied thoughts. Undyne said something about not liking 'asparagus.' Alphys was giggling at Papyrus, something about how he ate 'mashed potatoes.' There wasn't much to whatever this was, but what it had, it used wonderfully. The mash melted with savory, robust taste in the Praetor's mouth. never going away for as long as it lingered. The greens gave it all some needed solidity, all while adding a rich, buttery taste of their own. He just sat there, no longer thinking or ruminating on bizarre changes of scenery. He simply took a moment, for the first time in so many years, to enjoy something.

Once again however, he had failed to pay any attention to the world around him. His eyes had already seen the hand waving in front of him, but his mind hadn't registered it until now.

Undyne and the others snickered a little. "Hellooooo? Anyone in there?!"

The Marine gently brushed Undyne's hand away, slightly embarrassed, but taking it in stride more than anything, shaking his head a little and giving a snide smile. These people were harmless, especially the lizard girl, her subdued giggle underlying her shaky voice.

"You were spacing out pretty hard there, guy! Everything alright?"

In all honesty, everything was alright. Or at least, it was shaping up to be that way.

He then looked down to see a little porcelain saucer, and a sizable white hand placing a cup thereon. Asgore stood over his shoulder, smiling and pouring him a handsome cup of tea.

The kindly King set his kettle down, taking his seat to the Marine's left. "I think Tori has the right idea here. Few things make someone feel more welcome than good food." He noticed this imposing, fearsome man looking meekly into the cup and couldn't help but laugh. "Well, go on then, try it!"

No use shying away. The cup was smaller than what he thought any King that size would be caught with. He wasted no time examining or scrutinizing it. Throwing his head back, he downed it all in one swig. The heat was enough to make him wince a little, but pain tolerance had become a given for him. Besides, it still tasted fine. it left a sweet, flowery scent in his nostrils as it went down. He wasn't as blithe to everyone as he had been; he caught the snickers and cheeky expressions, but he truly did not care. If anything, laughing, friendly faces had become a welcome change in scenery. That food and drink was too. He tried to look back, dig into the nearest corner of his memory where something like this could be found. There were visions of great halls where warriors feasted, albeit on more robust fare than what was offered here. The pounding on the tables, the celebrations of victory laden with drink and with meats...

Meats that he could now smell

Now we're talking.

He wasn't the only one who could hear the oven door close. Undyne's fin-like ears perked up, and Sans lowered his ketchup bottle. The Praetor tapped the table and made a circling motion with his hand. Everyone's eyes locked onto him as he raised that hand halfway into the air, eyes pointed towards the kitchen. He was anticipating the food no doubt, but it looked as if he were ready to signal something, what with that eager look in his eyes, and the way his hand slowly raised up, bit by bit as the sounds of clanking kitchenware became louder. Toriel's shadow peeked around the corner. The Marine's other hand rose, counting down with open fingers from three.

3

"okay every one, supper's ready!"

2

"You're all going to love it! My famed lasagna, straight out of the ove-"

1

_**WHAM** _

"Oh goodness...!"

The sound of the Doom Slayer's fists smashing into the table nearly sent everyone out of their seats. So far they had shown him how they do things, how life in the underground played out and how it was like to not live in constant battle. It couldn't hurt to show them how _he_ did things.

Alphys scrambled back into an upright position. "D-Doomguy?! What was th-?!"

_**WHAM** _

**_WHAM_ **

Undyne and Papyrus began to see the cue as they caught him winking their way. They too raised their fists and sent them down on the table, eager grins spreading across their faces. Alphys meekly joined, her little arms just barely able to reach over the table.

**_WHAM_ **

_**WHAM** _

**_WHAM_ **

Asgore was tempted to join in, far too endeared by the scene to stay still. He was about to bring his hands down when he heard a scolding voice

_"Asgore!"_

"What? It's technically my house..."

**_WHAM_ **

**_WHAM_ **

Sans lay his head on the table, droning out and letting the shaking distort his voice as if he were speaking into a fan

"UhUhUhUhUhUhUHuHuHhuH"

Faster and faster, everyone pounded the  wood nearly to the point of mulching it. Obscure memories were re-surfacing in the old Warrior's head. The bravado of long forgotten comrades pumped anew through his powerful sinews, and as the rest of this merry company joined in with the irreverent fanfare (Even Frisk had begun to pound the table with her little fists), he felt that maybe, even if he didn't fit in here, "here" could fit in with _him_.

The queen looked bemused but anxious. Time for step two.

"Okay.. okay everyone s-settle down, I know we-"

 ** _WHAM._** The Praetorian stopped, and everyone else did with him, some a beat or two late. Without letting the poor Queen continue, he briskly got out of his seat and took the large pan, odorous with the smells of meat and sauces, enough to drive him nigh ravenous. He slammed it onto the table, some of its contents splashing onto the table and nearly everyone who sat there. With one hand, he sat her down with rowdy gusto. As Toriel tried to right herself, she looked across the table to Frisk, then back at the Praetor. He held the serving spatula high above the pan like a sword over some sort of beast before plunging his "blade" into its "belly," splashing its "entrails" all across the table again. She squealed as tomato sauce landed on her robe, then looked up again as the Marine attempted to serve everyone.

On that spatula was enough for three servings (she had intended to make enough for leftover). The Praetor struggled to keep it on, picking up a small fork before discarding it in disdain. A flash of blue erupted from his right. Undyne had taken out a spear.

it was then that Toriel began to wonder just how everything could spiral downward so quickly.

"Here you go!"

The Marine nodded, took the spear, grinned, and impaled the serving through its loose side so that he could stabilize it. He served Frisk up first, practically tossing it onto her plate, splashing even more "guts" onto the giggling little girl's shirt. Then, the Queen and King, followed by Undyne and Alphys, then the skeleton brothers, all receiving a serving half the size of their torso, emptying the entire pan in one go. The Night Sentinels were no birds by any stretch. There was no such thing as "seconds." You took your fill in one fell swoop, sharing stories of glory with your brethren. It was time this comfy little cabin got a taste of that.

"O-Okay!" Toriel struggled between laughing in endeared amusement and despair. "Settle down everyone, w-we ought to-!"

She was interrupted again as the Praetorian took Asgore's kettle and snapped off the spout before raising it into the air. The others did not catch on immediately, but they did when the Preator's hand signaled upward. They all raised for his toast except Asgore, who meekly looked into his empty teacup.

"Uhm.. Mister Doomguy sir..."

The Doom Slayer turned and was shocked to see the King's cup empty. Without delay, he poured his cup to overflowing before raising the busted kettle once more. At once, everyone clashed their cups. The table was soaked and the empty pan filled as all drew back and drank. By now Toriel had surrendered to her amusement. There was no way to stop any of this. She too raised her cup, if a bit late, and the Doom Slayer didn't hesitate to return her toast, splashing half of it onto her sleeve.

The Marine finished the entire kettle in seconds, raising his finished vessel one more time before throwing it to the ground. he sat back down to see the fruits of his good work. There wasn't a single frown at that table. Frisk's young enthusiasm brought her easily into the D'Nur dining hall spirit, and she smiled with a messy face while demolishing the contents of her plate. Papyrus and Undyne wasted no time with their food either, the latter tyring to encourage Alphys to dig in as well. She could barely breathe, hunched over and laughing uncontrollably. Sans was busy injecting his massive portion with ketchup. The King and Queen were the only ones who displayed any decorum, the former trying to sip from a cracked teacup while the latter bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the scene and the equally ridiculous size of her serving.

Alphys finally caught her breath. "Wh-What was that?!" She could barely fit half a syllable between laughs. 'Is that - Is that how you and those knights-EEK!"

The Praetor's hand slammed the dossier device back onto the table, projecting an image of several knightly statues. The men they depicted wore a robust armor and wielded fearsome, jagged longswords. Into the heaume of each man was carved a singular eye slot, gaze set steadfast through a steel scowl. They all stood at attention, swords pointed to the ground with their hands on the pommels. Their presence, though in stone and through a holograph, commanded utmost respect.

Alphys was breathless. They all looked like the heroes and stoic figures she read about in her "human history books" in her spare time. "Woooow.. just imagine having them with us..."

Toriel couldn't help but chortle a little at the proposition. "Oh no dear!" She shot a facetious look at the Doom Slayer, twiddling about her absurd portion with her fork. "Believe me, one is plenty!"

The Praetor responded with a smirk and open, challenging arms, but it wasn't long before he felt someone pull his right arm back down. He looked to see Undyne trying to get a better look at the projection. The look on her face said it all. It was like she was a little girl at Christmas. Remaining eye wide and full of wonder, a hand holding her head up by the chin.

"Man... I really gotta get the Royal Guard outfitted in something like that..."

Papyrus' mouth was wide agape. "I would look so **_cool_** in that armor..."

"Ah, I'm afraid not, Papyrus..”

Asgore looked tired. He never liked to bear bad news. “Remember what we were talking about earlier? The Royal guard will be disbanding, now that the war is over.”

“Oh…”

Undyne could only sigh in resignation. “Oh yeah, that’s right. Man, I really haven’t thought this through…” Glum as her words were, a happy face somehow emerged from the gloom. “I guess I never thought I’d get to see the surface. Maybe that’s why I don’t have it all planned out.”

The Praetor’s brow raised. The surface? Did that have something to do with what they were talking about earlier by the balcony? He ate as he listened, trying to put each piece together with one hand under his chin and the other shoveling food, having discarded the little fork that came with his plate.

“I think I know what I’d like to do.” Toriel wiped her chin a little, clearing her throat out before continuing. “I’ve always loved teaching children. I just hope that maybe I could practice that when we surface.”

Asgore swallowed before speaking. “Come to think of it, the Royal Guard won’t be the only thing dissolving. When we assimilate, the Kingdom won’t be a thing anymore. Perhaps I’ll finally get the chance to just do what I love. Tend to flowers, grow my own garden. Maybe I’ll open up a flower shop…”

“Hey Sans.” Frisk took some time to wipe her hands off. “You’ve been pretty quiet. What do you think? You gonna do anything special on the surface?”

The Skeleton seemed lost in spinning his ketchup bottle on the table. It took two or three seconds for him to respond. “Hmm…? Oh, I dunno, kiddo.”

Papyrus rolled his eyes. “That’s because you won’t do **_anything_** , Sans. We both know that.”

“Yep!” Sans chuckled. “Darn straight.”

Alphys couldn’t help but notice the Doom Slayer’s confused, unfocused gaze and the way he chewed so slowly. “Hey Doomguy, is something wrong? You look like you’re spacing out again.”

He looked at her and shrugged and raised his brows, pointing all around.

“Do you know what’s happening?”

He shook his head before shoving another handful of lasagna into his mouth, iliciting another giggle from Alphys.

“Hheehee… It’s alright. Frisk, you think you can cover it? I’m not so good at these things.”

“Okay.” The little girl shifted in her chair, wood squeaking on wood as she turned toward the Praetorian. “Monsters have been stuck down here for a very long time.”

The Marine nodded. So far so good.

“Humans sealed them into the mountain after a huge war, and it would have taken seven human souls to get them out….” Suddenly, she had run into a wall. She still hadn’t told anyone about Asriel, or what he did to break the barrier, or what happened right before. She had to lie, at least for now. Doomguy was beginning to look concerned. “But it turns out that something else broke it. We still don’t know how or why, but now the barrier’s gone, and everyone’s gonna be free soon.”

Warmth returned to Asgore’s face. “We sure are… by the way, I don’t think we ever discussed the specifics of that. No one but us knows about it just yet, and we don’t want everybody stampeding out at once. I’m thinking of giving a speech tomorrow to let everyone know before having the guard escort everyone out. I think we’ll have our work cut out for us for the next day or two. Maybe the next few months.”

Undyne lurched back in her seat, dragging her voice like dead weight on her breath. “Uuuuuggghhhh…. This is gonna be my laaaaaaast assignmeeeeeent…. This _suuuuuucckkkkss!”_

“Oh, cheer up, Undyne!” Papyrus wrapped his arm around his friend. “The guard may be going, but the… hold on…” He turned the sleeping device back on, squinting at the text under the picture of the Sentinel statues. “The ‘Night Sentinels’ might still take us! After all their leader is right here, isn’t he?”

The Doom Slayer gave a tired smirk, knowing his men were at peace. He saw them salute him at the necropolis. He saw them pointing him towards the wraiths in the ruined Argent Temples. Their memory no longer stung.

Undyne’s face beamed right up. “Yeah… hey Asgore, is it treason if I join another order of knights when under your command?”

“Why of course!” he replied jokingly.

“My rebellion will be swift and fair then.” She squared her shoulders, facing the Marine.

He chuckled quietly, ready to jokingly dub her a Sentinel. He reached for his blade, latched to his left hip…

And then he remembered. It wasn’t there. Hayden had taken it. He still had it

The others began to worry as they saw his countenance slowly set itself ablaze, eyes to the ground and staring cold death, face locking itself into the harshest possible scowl, exhaling deeply through his nose.

“Is everything okay, man?” Sans sat up, taking his feet off the table. “You’re looking pretty foul there, buddy.”

The Hell Walker waved him off, trying to calm himself down.

“I saw you reach for your sword… is it gone?” Asgore meekly asked.

The Praetorian nodded, the scowl slowly melting from his face. They didn’t need to see him like this.

Papyrus’ boisterous voice suddenly went meek. “Are you searching for it? Do you know where it is?”

He nodded.

Frisk’s head sunk a little. “I was hoping you could stay with us…”

“Oh, Frisk dear, he has other things to do.” Toriel put a hand on the child’s shoulder. “If he can’t stay, we can’t keep him.”

The scowl was gone, in its place was concern. Just a few minutes ago, everyone was pounding the table, laughing, joking, having dinner together. Everyone’s smiles were disappearing. That wasn’t something he wanted to see. They were free from some sort of long imprisonment. Everything felt so hopeful. This was their time to be happy.

He waved Frisk over. She got out of her seat and approached him. “Yes?”

He looked at her for a moment. Those sweet, innocent eyes looked back up at him, pleading, but unafraid. He knew he had to lie. He had to leave sooner or later, but for now, that could wait. Hayden would re-emerge one day. At some point, he knew he would have to deal with the pompous Cyborg, but for now it was a bridge he could cross when he came to it, and that optimism showed as every hint of worry washed away

Frisk seemed to understand his silent declaration. “Could you stay with us?”

He tussled her hair and nodded. It was all he ever needed to say. As everyone cheered him staying, he managed to push his angry thoughts to the back of his mind. Those things could wait.

At least for the moment.


	3. The Oration

 Fading embers cast themselves onto the hearth amid the sound of crackling tinder. Heavy boots plodded along the wooden floor with Frisk's excited laughter following every step. The sound of water rushing and porcelain clinking could be heard from the kitchen, where Toriel was taking care of the last bits of dinner's aftermath. Oak wood creaked as Papyrus set the chairs back onto the table while Asgore mopped underneath. All the others could be heard idly talking in the living room, sitting by the hearth in the two chairs that sat by it. They paused when they heard the Praetor thundering close by, Frisk's laughter reverberating as she bounced on his back. Her feet wobbled about as she was lowered to the floor, and she looked dizzy, but surely enough, she found her way back to her friends, sitting, or rather falling down, onto the plush rug directly in front of the fire. Her armored ride sat down next to her, shuffling her hair again and smiling before snapping taut, surprised by Sans' sudden snoring. Frisk coudln't help but giggle

Alphys smirked, shuffling a bit in Undyne's lap. Her tail swooshed over the right armrest while her left arm propped her up against the left, "Man, If he can sleep through that, he can sleep through anything."

Papyrus came back from the kitchen shaking his head. "You don't know the half of it."

"What were you saying, Undyne?"

"Oh yeah." Her eye had been shifting between the child and the Praetorian, alternating between affection for one and friendly aggression for the other. "If they have a proper police force or something, I think I might sign up. Long as it's like what I've read in those history books..."

Alphys caught her wink, and blushed a bit. "Oh, I um, I d-don't think it's really like that, Undyne."

"I think you'd make a pretty good cop, Undyne." Frisk sat crisscross, rocking back and forth a little. 

"* _ **snrrk***_ wh-whu? Wuzzat?"'

"Well, look who's awake." Papyrus rapped his knuckles all over his drowsy brother's head. "Morning, sunshine!"

"Nngh. Stoppit." Sans swatted his sibling's arm away before yawning and stretching, nearly falling out of his chair in the process. "Alphys, who we talkin' bout?"

"Oh just more surface stuff."

'Oh, that still?"

Undyne rolled her eye. "Come on, man! You can't tell me you can sleep through all this!"

Sans chuckled and settled back into the easy chair. "Well, I can try..." 

Then, there was a knock at the door. Alphys knew who it was and shot up to answer it. "I'll get it!"

The Marine's eyes darted to the threshold, then back to the others, pointing back at the door with a quizzical expression.

Undyne already looked exasperated, her lips tucked and her eye rolling back. "Oh, you'll love him, Doomguy..."

Poor Alphys was nearly knocked to the ground as the door was swung wide open. Dim evening light outlined a somewhat feminine silhouette 

"You'll _really_ love him..."

"Oh thank you for giving me that text, darling. Sorry I'm too late for dinner, but I was a bit hung up at the moment." Hot pink, knee high boots stepped into the doorway, contrasting feverishly with the gentle orange light coming from the fireplace. The Doom Slayer squinted a bit as their luster hit him square in the eyes. He could see one eye turning to look his way - the other seemed obscured by his bangs.

"Ah, this must be our visitor! Yes, Alphys has told me quite a bit about you." That voice was one of the most devilish and sultry things the Marine had ever heard. There was some distortion to it - incredibly smooth, but more comparable to undulating sheet metal than silk.

As he made his way entirely into the house and the firelight, the Praetor took a second to really examine him. He was apparently an automaton of some sort: his arms did not bend, so much as they perfectly curved, being segmented several times over. His entire body was painted in black and various shades of pink and violet. In his abdomen, one could see some sort of heart shaped motif. The Slayer flinched a bit when he seemed to bound towards him, taking a knee - or rather both knees, with hands daintily clasped over them - to examine him. He took no note of personal space as he leaned in, nearly making physical contact with his face

"Hmm... oh yes, he's almost exactly how you described him! Handsome looks, strong jawline, and-Oh goodness!"

Mettaton felt hands gripping him by the shoulders, metallic fingers digging in almost hard enough to tear off paint. They brusquely set him down an arm's length further from the Marine, whose arms slowly pulled back, his face twisted into an annoyed grimace.

"Oh, what's with the sour face? I didn't-Oh! I know, I haven't properly introduced myself yet!" He hopped back to his feet, dusting himself off, and summoning every ounce of glamorous grace he had. "Name's Mettaton. Performer, TV host, entrepreneur, Underground sensation." His hand extended and shook the Doom Slayer's before he could refuse. "Alphys, what do you think? Oh, who am I kidding, you've already texted me what you think. I'll tell you, the strong silent type makes great television-"

On and on that robot babbled. The Praetor took a quick reprieve from his annoyed glare to shoot Alphys a sly look, raising an eyebrow and squinting ever so slightly.

"Wh-what?!"

He pretended to tap on a phone's screen, smirking just a bit.

"Oh come on!" Alphys tried covering her bashfulness with boldness. "I can't throw a compliment every now and th-EEP!"

Undyne noogied her a little, chuckling. "Careful you little nerd!"

Toriel had been peeking around the corner, simply beaming as she listened in on the others' conversation. They were all so happy, and she would be lying if she had told herself that she wasn't just as giddy. So much as was about to happen - which was exactly what fueled her looming anxiety. So many monsters to gather and chaperone out of the underground. So many years of life below the mountain to undo. So much work.

None of those concerned her nearly as much as what would become of her and the man standing off to her left. She needed to talk to him. perhaps not about  _that_ , but about what lay immediately ahead.

"Asgore..."

The king turned and set the last (intact) plate back into the cupboards. "Yes, Tori?"

"Don't call me that."

"....Right."

"Just how ready are we for this? Has the guard been notified? Are there any plans as to how we're going to get everyone out of here? What we'll do about human contact?"

"it's okay, I have part of it taken care of."

"What part?"

Asgore held up his phone. "I have my own direct line to the Guard's second in command. They've verified it with Undyne already. All of them know where they're going tomorrow."

"Alright... and the rest of the underground?"

"I'll take care of it."

"When? It's getting awfully late, at least if we want to get up early to enough to get things underway."

For a moment, Asgore's smile lit back up. "Hehe... this almost sounds like when we used to-"

He was struck dumb as he saw Toriel's gaze become colder and colder. His smile disappeared as fast as it had come.

"I'll uh... I'll go and give everyone a little rundown before we all head to bed. We'll talk about who's sleeping where in a minute."

"Alright then." The coldness in her countenance began to thaw a little. "I'll get their attention."

Alphys's eyelids were beginning to get heavy. "So Doomguy, you're staying with us right? What do you think you're gonna do?"

The Praetor held his hand under his chin. In all honesty, it wasn't something he had really considered. Getting used to the monsters and the underground was one thing. If he wasn't finding a way back to his own plane any time soon, he now had to face adjusting to something entirely new once more. The thought captivated him a moment, but Toriel's voice interrupted his train of thought.

"Excuse me everyone!" they all looked towards the kitchen, where she stood by the table and the kitchen entrance. "It's getting late, and we have a big day coming up tomorrow. Asgore has some instructions for everyone before we head off to bed. Asgore, if you would?"

Asgore stepped out from behind her and into the forefront of everyone's attention. "Well, like Toriel said, we have a lot on our plate tomorrow." They couldn't help but notice that his voice was a little more on the meek side than usual. "I have a few things for us to do before we hit the hay, so everyone pay attention. Undyne?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"You got confirmation from the guard about the overshoot order?"

"Yeah, 01 texted me a while ago. Everyone headed to the Main Square?"

"Yes. Now that you're in the loop, you've superseded it. Assign a detachment to each sector of new home to facilitate the crowd and the first evacuees. You know your way around,, right?"

"Yes Sir. Papyrus, Sans..." She traced her eyes to theirs. "Think you can help me with that?"

"Yeah."

"You bet!"

"Great. I'll defer command to you guys for a detachment tomorrow. Anything else, Asgore?"

"That'll be all for you, Undyne. Mettaton and Alphys, you will make sure word gets out. Mettaton can use airtime to make sure everyone in the underground is notified to come to New Home's main square at noon tomorrow. Alphys, you help him in any way he needs. Once everyone is gathered, I'll need you at the rostrum to speak. Mettaton will join us afterwards."

"I'll make sure to put all other programming on hold."

"I can have auto security notify me of any threats, sir."

"That's alright, Alphys, Undyne will handle security. Frisk, Toriel, I'll talk with you in a moment. There's a few thing's I'd have you say tomorrow. Doomguy?"

The Doom Slayer perked his head up, brows raised, poised to receive orders. It felt odd taking them after so long, but once a marine, always a marine.

"You just keep a low profile. There's already much to disclose to everyone. Stick with us, and take a seat at the rostrum once everyone's gathered."

The Praetor nodded.

"Alright... Alphys, Mettaton, if you start now, you'll be just in time to fill in for the late night block. I'd suggest getting started. How long will it take you?"

"Recording will only be a few five minute takes, darling, we'll be finished before ten. I'll make sure it's put on loop and that no other programming will interrupt it."

"Right then. I'll leave the door unlocked for you two. As for the rest of you, It's about time to retire. Undyne,, you've got the guest bedroom at the end of the hall with Alphys and Mettaton. Papyrus, Sans, I've cleared out the room next to it. Toriel, would you and Frisk like my bedroom, or would you prefer the living room?"

"We'll take the bedroom."

"Well,  looks like you're bunking out here with me then, Doomguy. Frisk, now would probably be a good time to head to bed. I'll tell you what you've got to say in the morning, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright then. Toriel will be with you in a moment."

The door creaked somewhat as Mettaton and Alphys made their exit. "We'll be back in a second, guys!"

"Love you, Al!" The door shut.

"Right then. Toriel, if you would?"

With that, everyone else took to their rest. The subtle click of each doorknob followed one after another as everyone bid each other good night. The Doom Slayer planted himself in the other easy chair, where Undyne and Alphys had been sitting, wondering how his battle addicted body would be able to find sleep. He took little note as the King and Queen made their way back to the kitchen. Still, through his cloudy thoughts, their whispered words found entrance, and he couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Now, there will be a lot of people who've only heard old stories about you. I'm not gonna ask you to tell them everything about what happened or where you've been, but-"

"Are you sure they really need to know I'm back?"

"They've got to know at some point."

"Once the citizens of the kingdom are dispersed, it's going to have been made a moot point..."

"I think they deserve some closure, don't you?"

There was a pause. The Marine sat up a bit more in his chair, anticipating a response with bated breath.

"No, you're... you're right about that. I... I just don't know what I could possibly tell them..."

"Like I said, whatever you've done or wherever you've  been, no one but the two of us have to know, okay? All I need you to do is tell everyone about the dissolution. That's all you have to do."

"... I'd rather just hide with the Doom Slayer."

"Toriel, if you're so afraid of people being mad at you for being away, what good will hiding do anymore?"

"Look, I just.... fine."

"Hmm?"

"Fine, I'll do it."

"Are you really that adamant about-"

"Dreemurr, how easy do you think this is going to be for me?"

"If you really don't want to do it-"

"No, I'll do it. It's done. It's okay."

"It doesn't sound like it's okay..."

" _ **Just...**  _just let it be. Drop it. I'll think of something. I'm... I'll just head to bed."

The Doom Slayer tried not to make eye contact as Toriel exited the kitchen. He began to worry when he noticed she hadn't moved very far from the dining room table. Had she seen him looking around? Did she suspect him listening in on them? He dared not breathe. This wasn't his business, and he wasn't about to make it his.

"Asgore, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"It's alright..."

"I just..." Her tone had mellowed out. It sounded like she wanted to finish her sentence but something was restraining her. The Marine carefully looked into his periphery, and he could see her mouth was slightly open, words just barely hanging off her tongue. She closed her mouth and swallowed them. Her mellow face, scrunched back up and she walked to the bedroom. "I'm going to bed."

"Good night, Toriel."

She kept walking as if she didn't hear him, shooting a quick look at the Praetor. She noticed his open eyes, and he froze, but she didn't. The exasperation in her eyes seemed to vanish as she passed. He could hear her open the bedroom door, but he didn't hear her close it until she spoke again.

"Good night, Asgore."

The door had been shut for a solid five minutes before he saw the King come out of the kitchen to take the other easy chair. The Marine hadn't bothered to look away, and so Asgore made eye contact right back. One couldn't find words to explain what had happened. The other had no words to begin with. Both looked away. There seemed to be a mutual understanding. Enough words had polluted the air for the night. A little silence would be better for everyone. Silent they both stayed, neither really knowing when sleep would finally take them.

_____________________________________

 

"Citizens of The Underground... I, King Asgore, have a momentous announcement to make!"

The Doom slayer and all his new acquaintances were seated behind the King in a grand rostrum overlooking the entirety of New Home. They spoke among themselves in excitement as he continued his speech.

Sans put his hands up and behind his head. "Get ready for the noise everyone..."

"The barrier that has trapped us here for so long, that has kept us from the outside world, that has sealed us down here in this prison.... HAS BEEN DESTROYED!!"

The crowd erupted into tremendous applause almost before the King finished his sentence.

Frisk marveled at the sight. "Look at them... This is amazing..."

"All because of you, my child."

The King continued. "My initial plan, to capture seven human souls and become godlike, was not needed... all thanks to a small human child whose compassion, love, kindness, and selflessness became the fulfillment of that ancient prophecy regarding our freedom, which prophecy is strewn about this palace in the form of the Delta Rune that has so transcendentally embodied our hopes and dreams... Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our new Ambassador to mankind...a friend to all monsters, the one who freed us... Frisk.... would you come up, please?"

As Frisk made her way up to the cliff-like overlook on which the King stood, the multitude cheered all the louder. Joy filled her heart as she saw everyone cheering and calling out to her. There they were. All of monsterkind was there to see her, and every one of them was now free. So many had come to know her already. She could see familiar faces in the crowd. Snowdrake, Grillby and his patrons, Fuku, and even a few members of the Royal guard whom she had encountered coudl be seen waving at her directly, her name called out on their lips

"T-thank you!" She was quickly overwhelmed by emotion. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you all so much!"

"We owe you a great debt, Frisk... We all do..."

"Are you ready to reveal who you are, Toriel?" Papyrus' question elicited a concerned look from the queen. "You've spent a long time away..."

"I suppose..." Apprehension drew some fidgeting from her, wringing her hands, tapping her foot. "Me and Asgore have some things between us... we discussed it last night and we both decided that our kingdom really won't be a thing anymore once we assimilate into the outside world. That's why I'm not wearing my regalia."

"Oh..."

"That's what I'll be telling them at least. I hope it doesn't discourage anyone..."

"I think everybody will be just fine as long as you emphasize that they're free now." Undyne's reply managed to ease some of the tension in Toriel's mind. "Just don't worry too much. It'll all be okay! Everyone's been waiting for this for years, Toriel. Trust me, they'll understand."

"I guess so..."

Then, Asgore spoke those words Toriel had so anxiously anticipated. "And with that, I would like to announce the return of someone who we have all missed so dearly.... Some of you know of her. Many more of you have heard tales of her... Let us all welcome the return of our beloved..."

"Here I go..."

"Queen Toriel!"

Once again the cheering became deafening. Hope had been so thoroughly renewed in everyone's hearts. So many old wounds seemed to be healing at once. The dreariness of the years seemed to be melting away. Although New Home's palette was noticeably grey. light and color seemed to prevail that day. 

The sight choked her up and robbed her of speech. "I-I'm not sure what to say. It all seems so strange to be back... and even stranger that neither me or Asgore will be your leader."

The cheering gave way to murmuring.

"I know you all have so many questions. Some about me, some about the barrier... but right now, the latter is what's more important, or at least more pressing. My dearest people, there will not really be a Kingdom anymore, as we have decided it best to assimilate and become one with the people on the surface. I can only imagine how it feels for some of you, who have lived here all your lives. I can see your faces, and I know, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, that you love us both. I can feel it as you cheer, and as you..."

Toriel struggled to maintain herself. All those quickly saddening faces had  away of making her chin quiver and her nose sniffle.

"...and as you call out my name. I know change can be hard. This is going to be a new chapter for all of us, and none of us know exactly what lies ahead. it's scary, I know.... but don't be disheartened. Don't be so downtrodden over what we're leaving behind. So many of us have dreamed of this day. So many of us have awaited the day when we would see the sun again, and many more of us have lived out our days here wondering when that day would come, or if our children or grandchildren would see it  With that, dear people of the underground, I implore you not to lose heart. Don't be so afraid to lose what you have when you have so much more to gain. be willing to find happiness no matter where life takes you. As for where it's taking you and me.... have faith. Faith that wherever it's going, it will only take us up."

Those closing words brought cheering back into New Home. 

Undyne observed her in smug confidence. "I told her it would work... Hey Sans, you alright? You seem kinda... down for some reason."

"Me? nah I'm alright..." The skeleton shook himself a bit, not realizing that his countenance was fallen somewhat. "i'm okay..."

"Thank you, my dear..." Asgore bowed a little as Toriel stepped back from the orator's point. Though she still harbored resentment towards Asgore, she could put it aside at least for one day. "Now, I wasn't planning on doing this, but I have one more announcement to make before i have the Royal guard here guide everyone to the exit. Not too long ago, another human joined our company. We know not how he got here, nor do we know his actual name. He is a warrior from across time..."

The Doom Slayer put a hand to his helmet, dreading the publicity. He hadn't heard anything from Asgore about this. No plans, no short talk before leaving the palace, nothing. Oh well. It's not like he was expected to speak, right? He stood up reluctantly as the King prepared to announce his name.

"Citizens of the underground, I would like you to meet-"

Before he finished his sentence, a deep rumbling shook the ground, inciting excited and nervous murmuring and shrieking from within the audience.

"What was that?"

Undyne immediately addressed her second in command. "Did you see where that came from?"

"No, but our other human guy is looking over that way..." he said as the Doom Slayer seemed to have his eyes glued in one direction, focused as an eagle hunting its prey.

"Doomguy... hey doomguy, what are you looki-" She was cut short by more of the same rumbling, and now she saw what her mystic friend was looking at. Flashes of red were popping up all over the horizon behind the crowd, who now were taking notice and becoming increasingly afraid.

"Okay, get some boots down there, ASAP, we might have trouble...."

"Yes ma'am!"

Before she could address the Hell Walker again, he had run off to the orator's point next to Asgore, Toriel, and Frisk, his iscorching gaze fixed on those red flashes.

"Doomguy, what's happening?!" Frisk's worried question drew no reply as the Predator pulled out a massive firearm with multiple barrels, much to the crowd's further alarm. Servos whirred in its barrel assembly as each chamber locked into place. Steel clicked and clanked as the feeding mechanism was refreshed with shining brass cartridges.

Asgore was just as concerned. "Sir, you have to tell us what's happening... Do you know what those flashes are?"

"Everyone's starting to panic..." Toriel observed the nervous multitude, seeing worried parents clutching children and loved ones looking at each other in uncertainty and simmering fear. "Sir, we need you to-"

Before she could finish, the Doom Slayer took a running start as he hurtled himself over the edge. All was silent on the way down. just two seconds of nerve wracking silence before he stuck his landing with his fist, breaking the concrete around him for several feet. Without delay, he ran through the crowd as they all stepped back in terror. He waved them off to the sides, trying to cut through them. Faster and faster they retreated, letting him pick up his pace until he reached the end of the throng where some barricades were posted. He stopped after passing them, holding up his weapon and ignoring the pleading inquiries of the crowd behind him.

The flashes and thunderous noise continued for a few seconds and then stopped suddenly. The crowd went quiet. The suspense was sickening to all but the Doom Slayer. He knew what was coming. He gripped his weapon tighter, practically wringing its furniture to polymer splinters as he heard what sounded like stampeding feet and throaty roars coming toward him. The stench of panic and of crippling fear began to waft through the crowd as the sounds got closer.

"Toriel, what's happening?" Frisk was, now terrified to tears.

"I don't know, my child..."

"Sans.. is someone lighting fireworks back there or something? Everyone looks awfully scared..."

"Something tells me that's not what's going on, bud..."

"M-Mettaton, you're gonna wanna get over here fast!"

"I need all feet on the ground! We need to make sure everyone's sa- Oh my goodness..."

Out of the shadows and streets of New home, they came. Snarling, roaring and shrieking as they all lined up in front of the Doom Slayer. Their unholy chorus drove all who heard it, save the Praetor, who had played audience to this tune for eons, into a state of near catatonic fear. The crowd tried running back, stumbling over each other as the hellish horde came spilling into the town square. Oddly enough the horde's attention wasn't focused on the massive throng of hapless potential prey, but on the singular, unstoppable man before them, who unlike those behind him, showed no fear of their infernal might. More and more of them entered the fray, storming towards the square before abruptly stopping. It was a standoff between two unstoppable forces; a horrendous reunion between predator and quarry.

As they drew near, the monster could see their forms without obstruction. Green and yellow eyes pierced through thin fog and fragile hearts. All of their eyes could glow. one color or another, and the way they emerged from the dust was enough to paralyze an average underground citizen in terror. Skittering claws left marks in the brickwork and cobblestone, while the same was ground into powder by massive hooves. Some could be seen rising from the rooftops, slobbering and licking their teeth, while others wreathed their arms in scarlet light. 

Replacing those feelings of happiness and hope were soul drenching, blood freezing terror. The dream had become a nightmare; A nightmare soaked in the crimson of blood and set ablaze by the all-engulfing fires of doom The rusted prison bars of the barrier had been replaced by the barbed steel cage of Hell, and those within it began to feel the plummeting hope and the excruciating, unbearable dread borne by the damned.

The Doom Slayer's blood began to boil, and he trained his weapon at the enemy as the civilians behind him screamed in terror.....

Above all one familiar voice spoke up above the clamor:

**"KILL HIM"**


	4. Speak of the Devil

The grips on his weapon lowered, and in the selfsame motion, the chain gun’s nine barrels separated in three clusters with the sound of clanking steel and pneumatic actuators as 15-millimeter rounds locked themselves into battery. The thunder of a hundred stamping demons was soon drowned out by the deafening buzz of three thousand rounds per minute of gunfire, and the terrified screaming of the civilians who now fled in scrambled panic from the scene of bloodshed.

Within the Doom Slayer’s mind, torrid conflict of emotion bore down upon him, and all other noise was muffled under its burden. He felt so bitter, so unfathomably angry that this scum once again comes to take from him any possibilities of peace. Mingled with that anger however, was a sickening sense of ‘welcome home,’ of being back in the saddle. The sound of the chaingun roaring, the cries of dying hellspawn, the ring of brass casings falling to the floor, of demonic blood spilling in gouts from disemboweled torsos and from between jagged teeth and gargling demon throats. All of it was the sweetest music, the only music he really knew.

But there was other screaming. Not just imps choking or Cacodemons gargling, but men, women, and children. All running. All crying. All terrified for their lives. He could hear Asgore calling out to them, telling them to flee, to get to safety.

There was his anger again, fueled by protective instinct. Maybe his anger and his glee were one.

 

Kill you all. You won’t lay a finger on them. Kill you all.

Ammunition half depleted. Muzzles turning red. Don’t care. Keep firing. Forty of them already. Forty-eight. Fifty-seven. Sixty-two. Little freaks aren’t even dodging. Your precious queen is dead. Can’t stop me. Barons coming for you. Standard pair. Shoot at their knees. Watch them buckle over, Tear their heads off. Ammo at quarter capacity. Store chaingun. Whip out Plasma rifle. Stun module. Keep them from getting past you. Pinky’s stuck. Let him sizzle while you blast his imp friends away. Wait… something just skewered him in the eye. It’s an arrow or something-

 

Suddenly, he saw Dozens more of those arrows flying into the horde. Imps clambering on New Home’s walls fell down and impaled themselves in the arrows lodged in their chests. Summoners retracted their outstretched arms in pain as arrowheads burrowed between tendons and carpals.

“Sir! We’re here to help!”

The Doom Slayer shot a look at the large, armor-clad, bunny-eared monster that teetered between admiration for courage and scolding for stupidity.

Another monster garbed in similar armor, but sporting horns instead of soft ears took over as his companion busied himself with his sword on a charging trio of imps. “Yeah, like, Undyne ordered us to help you!”

 

Oh no she didn’t

You’re all gonna get-

 

A Baron charged onto the plaza, roaring and throwing hellish fire at the guardsmen to the Scourge’s left. Its murderous intent reduced three of them to dust in an instant.

 

… killed out here.

 

That was not about to happen. Three minutes and every one of these monsters would be burnt to ash, if they were all this fragile. The Doom Slayer took the horned one by his shoulder and pointed him away, off to the entrance where the civilians were fleeing.

“But we can help!”

 

No. No you can’t

 

He waved him off again, this time, making a circling motion with his hand that seemed to point to all the remaining guardsmen, who even now, fought and died against the demonic onslaught.  The intent was clear as he waved them all away. Get out of here.

“But we have orders to help! You can’t handle all these things on your o-!“

A Hell Knight though his quarry was distracted. As it charged the Doom Slayer, he pulled out his Gauss Cannon, firing it with one hand while maintaining eye contact with the Guard and bisecting the demon messily with one charged shot.

“Okay… Okay, we’re moving!”

Another guard called out, fighting alongside another dog-like monster who could have been her doppelganger. “#02! We can’t hold them off!”

He immediately ran back towards her and the New Home Entrance. “That’s why we’re leaving!”

“What?!”

“He can handle this on his own! He doesn’t want us here, just go!”

One look at that huge gun and the way it took down the big floating ones with one charged shot was enough to convince Dogaressa. “Alright… let’s go!”

Guard 01 kicked a Hell Knight off the edge of his blade and took command. “Everyone, follow the Civilians! Escort them through the core and set up a perimeter at the entrances!”

Their hurried retreat brought them quickly to meet Undyne at the gates. Her anger was even quicker to meet them.

“WHAT?! I told you guys to help Doomguy out! What’s going on?!”

“He ordered us to leave, Captain!”

#01’s retort made Undyne’s eye twitch. “He _what_?”

“He didn’t really say anything, but he just waved us off. He-“

Undyne jumped over him and ran to get a glimpse of the action. Sure enough, there he was, standing alone against the horde, steadfast and unyielding, his cannon tearing through the greater beasts in showers of gore and great flashes of bright cobalt light.

But there were still so many. Possibly hundreds left.

He wasn’t going to be enough. Not in Undyne’s eyes at least.

With her heart pounding with determination, and her soul burning with protective fervor, she charged for the battlefield.

The King waved his people inside as they rushed past him from below, on into the core in a screaming, huddled mess. Even his booming voice struggled to overcome the din. “EVERYONE OUT! GET TO SAFETY! RUN!”

Toriel and Frisk stood a ways to his right on the balcony. The child shook in her arms, and her mind struggled in vain to answer her terrified questions.

“T-toriel?! What’s happening? What are those things?!”

“I don’t know, My child-“

“What are we gonna do?!”

“I don’t know…”

All the ‘I don’t knows’ felt like barbed wire coming out of her throat. If only there were something else to say. If only there were answers. If only she could tell her why those things – just a few hundred meters away, were attacking, and why just one man, the one man who had the answers, was all that stood between those abominations and her.

Watching from the balcony, Papyrus and Sans watched the demons slowly surround their friend. With every retreating footstep the Hellwalker took, Papyrus grew more and more concerned. "Guys, we have to help him! Isn't there anything we can do?"

Asgore was first to respond, his voice gruff with aggravation and worry. "We ARE doing it. Our top priority should be getting everyone safely away from New Home. Besides, Undyne sent a good group of her men to help him-"

Papyrus’ answer plummeted the King's hopes for a safe evacuation. "They're not there anymore!"

"They're not?!" He retreated from his position atop the end of the Balcony to get a better look, circumventing the obstruction caused by a supporting pillar. Toriel and Frisk, with Alphys in tow, all ran up to see the same desperate fight being waged in the plaza. From below, they could see the guard guiding civilians to the exit. The latter end of the multitude was making its way out, but without knowing the Doom Slayer’s strength, it would be easy to believe the demons would slip past him.

"Look!" Sans’ finger pointed to a grey silhouette cloaked on one side with sky blue emanating from a spear. "Undyne's running up there too!"

"They're gonna kill her!!" Alphys' fears suddenly exploded in her trembling heart. "ASGORE WE NEED TO SEND HELP!"

Toriel attempted to curtail that fear into intuition. "What can we do? Didn't you call Mettaton?"

"I did! I thought he'd-"

"Be here late?" Mettaton ran up behind, having made his way from around the crowd and one of the smaller tunnel entrances. "What's going on? Why is everyone evacuating?"

"See for yourself...." Frisk said, pointing to the horde.

The automaton's eyes went wide as the sight of the carnage in New Home filled them. "Oh my goodness..."

 

Pair of Hell knights. Gauss bolt to chest. Stunned him. Other one airborne. Dodge to left. Charge siege shot. Fire. He’s in pieces. Other’s recovered. Pop his head open. Keep moving. Horde of imps to right. Horde movers, closing in fast, five sentinels behind them. Didge their fire. Pull out combat shotgun. Pump them full of shells. Shots incoming. Move left and forward. Finish off last horde imp. Move in for sentinels. They’re fleeing. That’s right. Better run. Three Pinkies coming in. Dodge Mancubus pus…

Wait, what just hit him? Square in the eye too. Another right in his gut. Dodge pinky. Grab his tail. Tear it off and club him with it. Just what got him? Don’t tell me those guards got ordered back here. Undyne, please don’t tell me you-

 

“NGAAAH!”

 

Oh great.

 

Sure enough, there she was. She had attracted the Pinkies’ attention, and as they charged her, she just stood there, as if she could tank their hits. She held up her spear, hoping to land it in one’s throat as it hit her.

“COME ON! COME RIGHT AT M-OOF!”

It felt like a wall had fallen on her when the Praetorian had tackled her to the ground. Both charging demons missed and stumbled as they came to a halt a ways behind the duo.

The Captain was not one to accept perceived pity or unneeded help. She would have pushed the Praetor away if he hadn’t gotten up so fast himself.

“What the hell was that for?! I can take them!”

The Praetor scowled and shook his head as he emptied two more shots of his Gauss cannon into the demons’ fleshy, unprotected backs

 

No. No you can’t. Not like what you were doing.

 

She hadn’t gotten all the way back up on her feet when she noticed something clinging to her armor. Some sort of grimy soot falling into the rings of her chain mail. There were already more of these freaks lining up shots at her. Couldn’t focus on that right now-

Something caught her attention about that soot.

She looked down at her flank, where she had landed, and she found herself unable to breathe, or even move.

It was monster dust.

And there were several piles of it strewn about the chamber.

Two more slipped by the Doom Slayer. Big ones. Tall and no eyes or lips, both charging for her.

She didn’t even issue a battle cry as she charged right at them

 

Papyrus looked on as he watched his hero and his new friend fight desperately against… against whatever these things were. The others’ worried words couldn’t stay in his ears for long. Something about the way these things moved in, about the way they screeched and swung and shot, shook the Skeleton’s mind to its core, and permitted only attention to itself. ‘There’s good in everybody,’ he had always thought, yet these things did not stop to talk. They did not sue for peace like Frisk always had. From their first appearance in flashing, blood-red light, to their dying breaths, it looked like the one and only thing on their minds was death. Kill what’s in front of you. Think about, look at, run to, seek for nothing else.

The thought that anything so terrible could exist initially froze him in fear, and forbade him speak. Yet something was emerging from that fear. It was fear for his friends. Fear for Undyne, his life long friend and mentor. Fear for his brother, and for Frisk and for the King.

A guardsman’s duty was to protect.

That thought ignited what was once fear into newly germinating courage. It was frail. Just emerging and untested, but it was certainly courage. It welled within him in seconds, pooling like floodwater until it could no longer be contained.

“They can’t do this alone….”

With two bone clubs in his hands, he began to straddle the banister, but something was holding on to him by his scarf.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Sans’ smile was gone, and his eyes had gone black.

“I’m going in to he-“

He pulled harder on the scarf, almost taking it off. “You’re going nowhere, man! Those things will-“

Papyrus yanked his garment out from his brothers fingers with surprising fire. “Just you try and stop me.”

Then he jumped.

“PAPYRUS!”

“If he’s going, I’m going too.”

“What?”

Gone was Mettaton’s pomp and frilliness. Here was his seldom shown sobriety, surfacing as he saw the battle being waged, realizing just what the stakes were. “I won’t just stand by and let them get past us.”

He too jumped the banister,

“Neither will I…”

“Asgore!”

Part of him wanted to heed Toriel’s warning. Once before, he had disregarded her words, and that had landed him into an impulse decision that he came to regret.

But this wasn’t to hurt anyone. It was to protect. That was all that mattered.

“I can’t call myself King if I don’t protect my people. All of you get out of New Home. Alphys, you put the place on lockdown. Nothing gets in or out of here unless I say so.”

Before anyone else could protest, he had vanished. His cape flowed over the balcony in a loud flutter, and in an instant, was seen and heard no more.

The King’s landing tore the concrete around him. The cracking it issued was almost as loud as that coming from the aged King’s back as he slowly righted himself. He could see the others racing into battle a ways ahead.

“Ugh… this is starting to remind me that war is a young man’s game…”

Toriel rallied who remained after her, leading them into one of the side passageways that lead into the Core.  “Come now, we can’t stay here! Sans! Sans, we need to move!”

But he wouldn’t move. He just kept staring at the maelstrom of bullets and hellfire below.

“Don’t do this, guys…. Please don’t do this.”

 

For a moment, there was a lull in the action. More demons were advancing through the outer alleys and streets, but the Plaza, at least for the moment, was clear. The Hell Walker took this chance to dismiss his company. She was hunching over a dead Baron, catching her breath. He wasted no time with gentle dismissal as his hand roughly gripped her by her right pauldron, turned her about to make eye contact, and pointed to the exit, now vacated by all but a final detachment of guards.

Her defiance took him by surprise. “I’m not going anywhere!”

No amount of attitude would keep him from doing what he thought was right, and so instead of timidly retreating from Undyne’s fire, he shot silently back, grabbing her by the gorget and pushing her back, pointing with the other hand once more to the exit.

She scowled and smacked his hand off, getting up in his face in an instant. “I don’t think you heard what I said. I’M. NOT. GOING. **_ANYWHERE._** ”

This stupid, hard-headed girl was gonna get herself killed. Just like her friends who thought they could help. He didn’t expect her to bring them up as part of her defense.

She fought with her grief for control of her voice. “I know you saw it. I know you saw them die. That’s why you told them to leave isn’t it?”

He nodded.

“Well you’re not getting me to leave. I’ll die here too, if that’s what it takes!” Her sorrow and anger were beginning to surface in tears and a quivering jaw.

He turned for just a second. The latter end of the horde was fast approaching.

“Do you hear me?! **If it’s either my people or me who must die, it’s gonna be me! Do you understand?!”**

“No one else is going to die here today.”

Asgore’s voice shook the scowl from her face. The sound turned her about, almost without her thinking.

Mettaton stood squarely next to the King. “We’ll fight beside you, Undyne.”

The Doom Slayer’s gaze shifted from his new company to the streets of New Home. He could see shadows dancing on the walls amid the hellish sanguine light. They were close, but killing demons was almost as instinctual to him as breathing, and so other things were taking the stage of his mind. At that moment, he would have shooed them all off (with his shotgun if necessary), but something burned his conscience. Their bravery felt reproving of something. Some act of cowardice he had committed long ago…

The Captain was surprised to see someone as supposedly gaudy and haughty as Mettaton willing to risk life and limb for others. “You really will?”

Her old mentor’s smile did much to uplift her spirits. “You know we will.” He turned towards the Skeleton whose courage ignited his. “isn’t that right, Papyrus?”

Papyrus’ courage seemed to have abandoned him. He couldn’t look away from the piles of monster dust. Death was real now. Not only was it real, but it was close. It was right in front of him.

“Papyrus?”

And as demons came out in scores into the plaza, screaming and wailing and gnashing their jagged teeth, it felt as if death was breathing down his neck, loosening his fingers so that his clubs would fall from his hands, cementing his boots to the ground so that he couldn’t move.

Undyne and the others steadied their weapons. “PAPYRUS! GET READY, THEY’RE COMING!”

He managed to peel his eyes off the dust and to his comrades. He thought them all facing forward, and so when he made direct eye contact with the Doom Slayer, it shot him awake, out of fear’s chains.

That look felt piercing. Judgmental. It seemed to say “You don’t belong here.”

Something in Papyrus stirred. He wanted to say ‘yes, I do…’

But as those demons came rushing for him, he almost wanted to say-

“No, I don’t….”

No one heard that whisper escape his lips. The sound of two ten gauge barrels discharging buckshot rang through the chamber over and over, and with it, the sound of spilling entrails and pained howling. The grey light of New Home was overpowered by the light of Asgore’s flame as it spouted forth and clung to their flailing bodies, and by blue light as Undyne’s spears pierced demonic throats. Mettaton’s bombs flew about, and as demon after demon attacked them, each blast illuminated the chamber ever further.

Papyrus struggled to keep up. He tried staying still and letting them come to him. An imp got close and it terrified him, but he knew if he faltered, he’d join the other guardsmen on the ground. A swing of one of his clubs struck its temple with a loud  _crack_ , and a bloody crater would be left in its wake, toppling the dying demon. Never before had he taken life of any kind. That thought hadn’t a second to digest before more demons engaged him. Big ones with tusks and one with a jetpack set their sights on him. He readied two blasters.

‘It’s really happening isn’t it?’ He thought to himself.

 

Only a few left. Imps, summoners, and Hell razers. Maybe more. Can't be sure, but there's less of them. Think I hear another pair of barons too. Three coming for you. Run to right. Line them up. Fire. Eat buckshot. Summoners have been reinforcing. Run for them. Take them down. Jump on that one. Grab the crescent on its head. Push inward. Break his whole head open. Another one to the right. Shoot at it. He’s teleported. It’s on Undyne. Dammit girl, why won’t you move?! She’s put a spear through one of its wings. Robot guy’s taking care of it. Is that a chainsaw? Hope he knows what he’s doing. King’s burning the razers. He looks like he can handle himself. Where the bone kid? Imp’s riding piggyback. Grab his arm, throw him down, stomp his head in. There he is. Revenant’s giving him trouble. Looks like he knows to run, at least. Take out HAR. Scope attachment. Blow its brains out.

 

Bombs flew from Mettaton's back. His saw tore through another imp. “Guys, I think we’re on the home stretch! I don’t detect many more of them.”

Undyne didn’t reply. She was too busy punching a Hell Knight’s face in.

Asgore’s eyes darted to and fro, looking for more. He listened for the sound of any more of their awful screeching. “You just might be right. I think we-“

Undyne got up and let go of the knight’s corpse. “PAPYRUS LOOK OUT!”

 

Baron gunning for him. He’s gonna die.

Gotta tank the hit….

 

The Doom Slayer’s sprint converged his path with the baron’s and a green fireball cast him down to the floor. His armor skidded and sparked as the force dragged him across the cobblestone.

The baron was quicker than the other anticipated. It leaped at Papyrus and pinned him under a cloven hoof. Foul saliva dripped from its jagged teeth as it loomed over him. Green light re-ignited between its gargantuan claws. New home’s gloom reflected off its chitinous skin and glossed horns…

…before a shroud of azure enveloped them completely.

"Huh?!" Papyrus squeaked out before his assailant was tossed aside like a rag doll.

"Hands..."

Two imps were crushed by the baron's fall.

"off..."

The baron attempted to recover before that same haze again enveloped its head, twisting it until its neck snapped in a sickening, muffled _crunch._

"my..."

A hell knight was impaled with a massive, jagged bone before it could reach Papyrus.

"brother."

The Knight's corpse was thrown at a nearby cacodemon, impaling it through the eye by the same bone which killed its comrade.

"Sans!" exclaimed Papyrus. "I wasn't sure you were coming!"

"At first, I thought I'd just hang back and take it easy..." he said before flinging away several imps. "But bad things happen when people like me take it easy."

Two blasters appeared over his shoulder. Only the razers and some imps were left, and as they turned to face their newest assailant, they were vaporized in stark white rays of light. He missed two of them, but as they charged him, walls of bone smacked them in the face and knocked them to the floor. The cobblestone hit hard, but not as hard as the bones popping out therefrom, impaling them instantly.

The King took a second to breathe. “Okay… okay, I think that’s all of them”

“Hold on…” Sans’ eye retained its luminescence. “just one more.”

A lone Hell Razer attempted a crawling retreat. A trail of sanguine fluid could be seen following it on the pavement. Before anyone could get a shot out on it however, someone beat them to the punch. The sound of a distinct gunshot rang against the tenements of New Home, and as the beast’s carcass fell lifeless, the others’ eyes went everywhere. To the podium, to the empty plaza, to the windows of each and every house.

“Hello?” Asgore called out. “Who goes there?”

The Doom Slayer caught something. A glowing blue line shining out from one of the alleyways.

From that alleyway, they all heard a voice, and all now saw that blue light. “I suppose I should apologize for all this…”

The Doom Slayer’s blood began to boil at the sound of that voice.

Someone stepped out into the light. He was tall. As tall as Asgore, but thin as Mettaton, and like Mettaton, he too possessed a metallic body, though not as decorated or flashy. It was painted beige, with some black on his extremities. He seemed skeletal, his limbs being nothing more than sturdy frames bearing pneumatic actuators. Some sort of long rifle rested in his hands, a scope adorning its receiver. That light in the middle of his otherwise featureless head was hypnotizing to look at. Everyone was silent as he approached.

“I did not think my actions would have such far-reaching consequences.”

So this was all this guy’s fault. Undyne attempted (unsuccessfully) to conceal her anger. “Who are you?! Just what do you thi-“

“My name is Doctor Samuel Hayden, CEO of the Union Aerospace Corporation. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”


	5. The Cyborg

Almost before the cyborg had finished his sentence, the Doom Slayer immediately drew his guass cannon. Hayden had only a second to cross his arms and brace himself before the weapon blasted him back a few feet. His shields held out, though his generators spiked in temperature fending off that great blast. It hadn't knocked him down, but there were two distinct marks where the blast had dragged his feet. While he recovered, the Doom Slayer's accompaniment immediately questioned him in shock, all simultaneously bombarding the Praetor with their apparent surprise.

"Doomguy, what on earth was that?!" Mettaton's voice belted out with castigatory venom. "We don't even know this guy yet! What makes you think that was necessary?! We need all the help we can get!!"

His voice nearly drowned in the garbled mess of chastising rhetoric that was being spewed at the Doom Slayer. For all it was worth he really didn't care about what he had to say about Hayden, nor did he mind much of what anyone else said in the CEO's defense. He had no desire to kill him just yet; that blast was meant as a slap to the face as best as he could give to that man who had been so manipulative and dishonest towards him.

"Save your ammunition." The robotic man's voice was cool and unfeeling as he closed the space between himself and the Doom Slayer. "I understand that you may be upset with me, but there is no need for violence. As for this little... mishap..." He seemed observant, if not dismissive of the demonic corpses surrounding him, "... Let's just call it a minor setback. The next wave should be coming soon and-"

Hayden's callousness was not lost on Undyne, and her voice went frigid. "Hold on... So me losing nineteen of my men in one sitting is a quote-unquote 'Minor Setback?!'"

"I understand this attack may have had some devastating effects, but believe me, it will only get worse." Hayden sensed the effects of his tactlessness in Undyne's voice, and though he wasn't a one to fear anyone, he still realized that cooperation was what he needed most right now, not confrontation. "The next wave will be coming in any minute. I'll explain our situation momentarily. For now, we have to evacuate the area."

"I've already gotten our people to safety, Mr Hayden." The King maintained his decorum, bridling his passions and refraining from wasting time on reprimands, as much as he desired to issue them to his seemingly careless guest. "Doctor, My name is King Asgore, Lord of this domain. You say you are responsible for these creatures attacking us?"

"Not directly, but as I said...." Before Samuel could finish more flashes and thunder were seen and heard from within the streets and alleyways of New Home. "... We don't have much time. I presume you can lead us to where you led your people, Lord Asgore?"

"Indeed I can... Everyone, to the entrance! Don't stop for anything! _Run!_ "

 

Demonic shrieking followed their hastened footsteps as they ran for the exit. The Doom Slayer had to check his pace, knowing he'd leave them in the dust in seconds. More importantly, he'd be leaving them alone with Hayden. His eyes shot back to meet the CEO's optic head on, already locked onto him. The feeling was apparently mutual.

The hellspawn's calls got ever louder. Few eyes dared look back at them. Streaks of orange, green, and red light flashed in their periphery as the armies of Hell fired on them in volleys. The summoners screamed and took swings in the air, twirling about as if they were dancing, with waves of Hell energy acting as their veil. Undyne grew impatient with their retreat as those waves missed her and her friends my mere inches, and that impatience gave strength to her throwing arm as she lobbed several spears in their direction.

it wasn't long before she felt a metallic hand pull her by the gorget. "We don't have time to waste, they won't stop coming! Our priority should be retreat!"

Asgore's fire magic poured from his palm over his shoulder. "Mettaton! Call Alphys and tell her to de-activate security long enough for us to pass through!"

"Already on it..." The automaton replied. "Alphys, we're coming in hot! You're going to need to pull the laser security down for a moment..."

"Did you guys take care of it?" She asked.

"No, in fact...." The Robot barely dodged a Baron's fireball. "They're on their third wave and so far there's been no end to them in sight. You may wanna make sure the Guard's got us covered so nothing follows us, darling..."

"You've got it!"

On and on they ran until the orange and blue light could be seen retreating from the doorway. "Almost there..." Sans' strained breathing garbled his words.

Suddenly, a series of red flashes popped up in their way, leaving them trapped by several imps, two Hell Knights and a Baron.

Asgore's voice hastened everyone's faltering footsteps. "DON'T STOP, JUST PUSH THROUGH!"

They all continued to run full speed, firing whatever they had at the horde as they ran. A few imps were the first to go, and a stun shot from the Doom Marine's plasma rifle kept the rest of them still as everyone ran past them. Even more demons ran in, swinging in down from the rafters above and flashing up alongside and directly behind the group. No one stopped to fight. Just a few blind shots over the shoulder as they pushed for the door. The royal guard could be seen from inside, firing whatever they had at the horde from their side. Arrows flew past the group and stuck themselves in demonic flesh. A spear ran one of the hell knights through. The lone baron jumped in front of everyone, turning to face them as it touched down. It tried swiping them as they fled, but not before Hayden could put eight bullets into its hard hide, stunning it temporarily before Papyrus dispatched it with one of his blasters. Almost there. The entrance was within a few meters. Alphys, Toriel, and Frisk could be seen behind the assailing guardsmen, calling everyone to go faster. First, the ever spry Doom Slayer jumped in, facing backwards once inside and firing upon his friends' demonic pursuers with his belt fed LMG. He was followed by Undyne and Papyrus. Then came Doctor Hayden, Asgore, Mettaton, and Sans. As everyone stepped foot into the core entrance, the lasers were re-activated, and several demons were split asunder as they attempted to continue their pursuit.

"That was close...." Papyrus gasped for breath, still shaken by the ordeal.

"You're telling me bud..." Sans had an arm wrapped around his brother. "Glad to see you're still in one piece-"

Everyone's exasperated attempts at winding down were interrupted immediately. "That one's trying to break through!" Frisk pointed frantically at a Hell Knight as it tried to dismantle a laser battery.

"Everyone focus fire on the entrance! Make sure they don't get anywhere near those laser batteries!" The guard complied with Undyne's vitriolic order, sending whatever they had through the opening, skewering the knight and several others who were trying to break down the laser defenses. People behind them screamed in terror at more demons appeared trying to assail the defenses before the Doom Slayer and the Royal Guard made short work of them. With every shot the Doom Marine fired, the guardsmen felt a growing sense of boldness. The demons seemed to waver as he continued to lay waste to their ranks, and the fear in their widening eyes gave the guard some hope, hope that perhaps this fight wasn't as one-side as they thought. All at once, however, it seemed as if they had given up on advancing and attacking.

They had begin to retreat.

The demons now hid behind pillars and swung themselves off the balcony, hanging off where the Doom Slayer's lead could not reach them. it was obvious that they feared him, and in their fear, they had given the royal guard a chance for some respite, to set up barricades to defend the civilians and themselves, preparing to return fire on any demon who was determined to use projectile attacks. More guards guided the civilians away from the scene. Screams and murmuring and barely contained panic could be heard throughout the core.

"Alright guys, see if we can get everyone back home..." Undyne's crestfallen tone added to the overall bleakness in the torrid air. "Freedom's not coming today it seems."

"Lemme up the ante a bit..." Alphys' eyes darted around her phone's interface as she re-worked the security systems. "There we go!"

The first seven tiers of vertically constructed laser defenses were supplemented by three more levels of the same, crisscrossed with a last layer in the back that spun counterclockwise.

Impressed by the display, Undyne's mind raced, trying to think of any way the demons could bypass the defenses. Suddenly, the thought of them pouring in from other doorways in New Home flashed in her mind like a lightning bolt. "Hey Alphys.. You might wanna do that for the other entrances from New Home too."

"Lock down all entrances to the palace as well, dear." Asgore's visage was wandering around the cavern wall as he spoke. "Don't want these beasts roaming the surface."

"Re-routing power to security systems...Okay, That should do it." Alphys put the lock-down in place. No demon was getting out of New Home as long as those defenses stayed stable.

Undyne let out a breath of relief. "Okay... guys, we need a detachment at each one of those points to make sure nothing breaks through." One of her lieutenants saluted her, affirming her order before giving several squads of the guard their new posts.

"I'm so glad to see everyone's safe!" Toriel ran towards the beleaguered group, hope glimmering in her tired eyes. "And I see we've picked up another newcomer..."

"We'll save the pleasantries for when we find somewhere to discuss our situation in detail." Hayden's voice was frigid with cold indifference. "King Asgore, is there anywhere we can meet altogether in confidentiality? I'd like to speak with you, The Praetorian, and the Captain of the Guard here. We can discuss a possible way to stop the invasion."

"Maybe my lab would work?" Alphys' meek suggestion landed on Hayden's cybernetic ears only with paltry attendance. "It's not too far from here."

"Perhaps... Just who might you be?"

"I-I'm Dr. Alphys, the royal scientist..." her trembling words reflected her intimidation towards Hayden's cold demeanor and chilling voice. "I could definitely help us c-come up with countermeasures..."

"Can you now...?" Samuel's disdain of the lowly creature below him did not outweigh his scrupulous consideration of any potential truthfulness behind her statement. "King Asgore, is she telling the truth?"

"She is."

"Interesting.... Well then, Dr. Alphys, I'm glad to see this kingdom has some manner of scientific credence. That being said, I assume you're capable of retaining new data on the fly. If you're going to be of any use, you'll need to know the what and how of the situation."

He then pulled out a similar device to what the Praetor had used earlier. It opened into a three-dimensional holographic information map, at the center of which were the words "Project Argent." Alphys scrolled through its circular interface, going wide eyed as she view the UAC's handiwork.

"That should cover most of the information you'll need about our situation and the Hell invasion. get familiar with as much as you can. We're running on borrowed time. Now, we can go over more of the specifics when we enter Dr Alphys' lab. Captain, Your Majesty, I think it's time we get started. Doctor, if you would lead the way?"

"Do we get to come?" An eager voice called out from behind them. Hayden turned around to see Papyrus and Sans facing him. there was some worry and fear in the formers' eyes that seemed to conflict with his desire to serve. "We can help, Dr Hayden!"

"Really now..."

Undyne was first to defend them, having detected the dismissive and frankly derisive tone in the Cyborg's voice. "Hey, they put up a pretty decent fight today! You saw Pap take that big red one down when we were coming in, what gives?"

"What we're up against is not for the faint of heart, Captain-"

"And those young men have plenty of heart." Asgore's nobility clashed with Hayden's hubris. "Are you saying you have doubts about these two when they've proven their gallantry in battle?"

"'Gallantry' notwithstanding, I'll be perfectly blunt when i say we do not need any more than you, The Praetorian, The Doctor, and The Captain on this."

'That's not your call though, is it?" Toriel replied to Hayden's rudeness with queenly sass in her voice, her arms crossed in regal impatience.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I supposed to answer to every onlooker in the-"

"The 'onlooker' you're addressing is Toriel, the Queen of the Underground, Dr. Hayden." Toriel retorted. 

"...I see, your majesty." Hayden was not known to give much obeisance to anyone, but in this case, he knew his lack of courtly decorum had cost him a lot of trust, and that was what he needed most right now.

"Good! Now that we have that settled, I assume there are no further objections?"

"Why of course not." Hayden barely masked the venom in his voice.

"Wonderful! Now, I think it's about time we got underway. Frisk, come with me, dear."

"You're bringing a child with us?!" Hayden asked incredulously.

"I will not leave her all alone. Not again, at least. Worry not, she won't be embarking on our little quest. I just wish to keep her safe."

"Fair enough..."

"Alphys dear, what would you have me do while you're off with Doctor Hayden and the others?" Mettaton asked.

"I think it may be best for you to come with." She answered. "You need recharging anyway."

"'Recharging'... so he's an automaton?" Hayden looked at the puzzled robot in careful scrutiny

"Yes."

The Cyborg eyed Mettaton over, his metallic head tilting somewhat and his hand under his chin. Unlike all the other times people had "checked him out" this instance was far less enjoyable to Mettaton. He couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous around the enigmatic CEO, especially as he was being so probing and esoteric.

"Interesting.... Well now, I think we have enough in our little party. I think it's time we got going."

"Indeed." Asgore replied. "Alphys, if you would?" he said, gesturing Alphys to lead them on.

"Come along , my child..."

 


	6. The Plan

Everyone had assembled in the true lab. There was no "Conference Room" or worthy analogue within the compound to speak of. The best place Alphys could think of was a room past a hallway to the left of the "lobby" wherein were a few beds, sinks, and a counter set against the wall. It was a paltry little place to hold any kind of council, but it harbored the least bad memories out of any room in the lab that could be used to do so. it was also far away enough from the other places in the lab that she wasn't sure were good for everyone to be snooping around, at least until she could divulge everything in time. The amalgamates had already been sent home, and old wounds were beginning to heal. Still though, this place harbored nightmares for Alphys, and she was glad only Frisk knew for the moment.

"Okay everyone..." She wrung her hands a bit, timid tones sputtering out from her. "Let's go ahead and see if we can get this all sorted out. Doctor Hayden, I assume you'd like to know what exactly is going on here in the underground?"

"No, I don't really think so." He wasn't even looking at her when she replied.

"A-are you sure?"

"Here's what I'm sure of. Time is wasting. My own plane is wanting for energy, and yours is under siege. I insist we speak only on what's pertinent. It's time I told you all what's causing all this. Then maybe, we can make some headway."

Anyone distanced from Hayden gathered around him, save for the Marine.

"The Hell invasion here is, to an extent, my fault; therefore I owe you my help in stopping it."

Samuel then pulled up a holographic display, depicting what looked like a sword. Its quillon block and pommel were fashioned in the shape of the upper and lower jaw of some fused, demonic entity; hollow eyed and adorned with terrible horns. The blade seemed to be comprised of an ominous red light. It was wide, adorned with hellish runes, and terminated in a wide curve, a large spur ending on either side. The Hell Walker then drew close, partly in curiosity regarding Hayden's use of his prize, and partly in anger, wanting to know when he could reclaim what was rightfully his.

"This is the crucible." Hayden's explanation drew curious eyes and fretful minds in with ease. "An artifact from Hell capable of extracting infinite amounts of what is called 'Argent Energy.' I sent our mutual friend here to retrieve it. As to where it originated, only he can tell us. After he retrieved it, he used it to close a portal to Hell one of my employees opened, siphoning the Argent energy the demons were using to sustain the attack."

Papyrus let words leave his mouth without really thinking. "Why was it opened? Why would someone do that?!"

Hayden's irritation was palpable. "Well, you'd have to ask her, wouldn't you? The nature of our work has always been dangerous, and she fell to their-"

That sentence sent bells going off in Toriel's head. "What exactly _was_ the nature of your work, Doctor?"

"My world was in an energy crisis. We were extracting energy from Hell. Argent Energy. it defies everything we once knew about physics, it was the miracle we all-"

"That's horrible! How could you not find any-"

The Cyborg loomed over her and shoved those next words back down her throat with his inanimate, menacing gaze. "I don't believe you were there to help us search for any alternatives, _your Highness._ "

"Would you care to continue, please?"

He turned to see Asgore right up in his face. Something in his eyes was telling him he had cut it a little too close. Something about how his brow overshadowed them, and how one of them seemed to twinkle in a strange, orange glint.

"Very well... as I was saying, he used the crucible to shut down that portal. After he returned I... took the liberty of relieving him of the artifact and sent him here to you via inter-dimensional tether."

Undyne could scarce forget that look on the Praetor's face the previous day. "So the crucible's his sword... you stole it from him!"

Far from repentant, the CEO's defiance fueled his brazenness. "Why yes, I suppose you can say I did."

"And why?"

"Why, I don't know..." He slowly turned and began to advance toward the Doom Slayer. "Has he told you yet about how he crippled our Argent Energy production?!"

The Praetorian took that accusation almost like a compliment, folding his arms, taking both inquisitive and accusatory stares with seeming pride, with what looked like a smile curling on the corners of his lips.

The Doctor continued his slow advance. His optic was going red. "Has he told you about how he destroyed our means of collecting humanity's last chance at survival?! About how he callously destroyed _decades_ and **_decades_** of hard work?! Did he tell you any of that?!"

The Doom Slayer had taken enough of the Cyborg's insolence. He returned Hayden's advance until the two were up in each other's faces.

"How many times could I have reiterated it? We had it under control. We had the answer that saved the world from total collapse _overnight._  Argent was everything. It _worked._ It was _perfect._ And then you came along and ruined _everything..."_

The Praetor's cracking knuckles echoed within the small room. Contempt was written all over his glaring eyes and his clenching fists.

"You think you know better, don't you?"

He pounded a fist into his open palm. The force behind it stole breath and made hearts skip beats.

"Why, you-"

**"Enough!"**

The queen's grasp took one by the top of his breastplate and the other by one of lower edges of his chassis before shoving them both apart. "That's enough from both of you! I don't know the full extent of this little feud, and I won't pretend to, but here's what I do know: there's a few hundred of those beasts lurking in New Home, and every moment we waste bring us closer to them breaking through. You two can settle your squabble once we're done, is that understood?!"

The Doom Slayer backed away as she loosened her grip.

The CEO was pacified, though it took a while for his optic to go blue again. "Right then... After I sent him to you, I then attempted to harvest the energy our friend had siphoned. That is when I found out it can only be used by its 'rightful wielder.' When it rejected me, it attempted to send a beacon to our associate, but before it could reach him, Hell intercepted it. Despite the destruction of their Argent Energy source, they still had enough reserves to track it down and open a portal to its target. After he had laid waste to their domain for so long, they decided to find him and take their retribution."

A brief pause ensued before the King broke it. "So they're here for this man? The Doom slayer?"

"They are."

"So that's why they didn't seem to care about the civilians..." Undyne's hand lay under her chin as conflicting thoughts battled each other in her head. Some of them dictated the Marine's removal, but they were almost immediately defeated by her native loyalty. No way was anyone she cared about to be seen as a liability to be tossed away to the dogs. Shifting her thoughts, she brought up what problems were now at hand. "You realize though that if they break past our defenses..."

"I know that the stakes are high here, which is why I've already planned in advance." Hayden then closed the hologram. "I have not been able to pinpoint the exact location of the energy source they used to transport themselves here, but I do have a frame of reference. We're going to go there and destroy that source ourselves."

A few gasps were heard throughout the room. "W-We're gonna do what?!" Alphys stammered in shock, nearly disbelieving Hayden's sincerity.

"I don't believe I stuttered" Samuel replied quite coldly to the girl's shocked mewling.

Toriel too was taken aback by the notion. "That sounds like quite a tall order... Just how are we going to do that, Dr Hayden?"

"Simple. We need a way to open a portal to Hell and a way to tether our associate to this dimension so we can pull him out. The portal part will be easy..." he said, pulling out a familiar artifact from a compartment in his chest. "I believe this is yours."

The Praetor's hand shot up at the Crucible just in time for Hayden's hand to yank it out of his reach. He bowed a little to meet the Praetor eye to eye. "... As in, I believe it is yours _for the moment._  Whatever its future holds will be decided between the two of us _later_. Understand?"

He hadn't even lowered his hand all the way before the Doom Slayer brusquely snatched it form him. He maintained eye contact for several seconds, not even blinking. Hayden hadn't quite caught it, but he had just made that decision in advance.

 

it is mine. _Forever._

You don't get to decide.

 

"Our friend will hold on to the crucible for now. As for the tether, I will have to return to my home plane. I cannot activate the tether from here. I have set it on a timer that will activate in approximately half an hour."

"Alright.. Well, how are we going to use the tether if it's in your dimension?" The tone in Asgore's question belied his overall confusion.

"Upon my return, it will take about an hour and a half to prepare the technology for inter-dimensional transport." he replied. "We have more than one prototype tether home module ready for use as well. Once the equipment is ready, I'll come back with the second home module. We'll begin our operations from there. Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone paused once again, not sure of what to ask. This was something more dangerous than they had ever imagined. It was new, it was frightening, and it threatened everything they held dear and more. It was all happening so fast with so little known about it. The only two with extensive knowledge were the Cyborg and the Marine. The notion that their entire future lay in the hands of those two enigmatic figures troubled them all.

At last, Undyne spoke up. "Who will be coming?"

"Normally only the Praetorian makes these trips. He's quite capable of handling this on his own."

"I don't suppose that we cannot break precedent, then." Asgore replied. "This is my kingdom. I will defend it personally if I have to."

""I appreciate your concerns, but I must inform you that him and I are the only ones who have successfully journeyed to and returned from hell. All others have perished in the attempt save for demonkind."

"Is that because of the trip or the destination?"

"I've led a manned expedition to Hell once, wherein we found the Praetorian. We all made it there safely enough, but only I survived the demonic attacks."

"As far as I see it, that means I can still come." Asgore replied resolutely, part of him determined to defend those he loved, and another part of him which he didn't want to acknowledge, that whispered awful things to him, called him horrible, wretched names he felt he deserved...

"Count me in too!" Undyne's ebullience shone through her upbeat voice and her proud smile.

"Oh please..." Hayden replied to the sudden zeal with chagrin. "Let's not get caught up in the moment. We don't need any further..."

Undyne was not one to tolerate defeatism or excuse. "If they're this determined to get their hands on Doomguy, they're gonna put up more of a fight than they did before. We're gonna need more than just two guys on this!"

"Just one was more than enou-"

"I say we help him!" Papyrus interjected with some reservation. Most of him wanted to serve, though there was a creeping feeling of dread holding him back somewhat. "This is our home! We should be able to keep it safe!"

"Yeah, what he said!" Sans' nonchalant addition was the straw that broke the camel's back.

" _ALRIGHT!_ I'll tell you what..." Hayden's impatience had nearly reached its limit. "Why don't we let him choose, hmm?! He certainly has more experience with this than we do."

The Doom Slayer faced his new friends with arms crossed and brow scowled in contemplative scrutiny. On one hand, he strongly considered not letting even Hayden come. He knew he wouldn't give him back the crucible without some sort of plan to utilize him in the harvest of Argent Energy. In some way shape or form, betrayal lurked in the back of the cyborg's mind. He was sure of it. On top of that, there was no way he could forgive himself if any one of these people get killed. Why were they all so eager to throw their lives away? Sure they had put up a good fight against a relatively small invasion force, but taking the fight to the enemy's home turf did not seem like it was something they could handle. Still though, amid his desire for their safety was the same feeling of regret and painful remembrance that reminded him of his cowardly actions of the past. They were so loyal and determined. They weren't blinded by selfish circumstances. To deny them the opportunity to defend their home would singe his soul forever. He made up his mind: They could come, but only if they followed his every move. Anywhere they went, he would lead them. At no time would he see them in front of him. He'd make sure they got out safely no matter what. With that in mind, he pointed to those who he thought were best suited to come. Undyne, Sans, and Asgore were his picks, indicated by a pointed finger.

"...So be it." Hayden replied with resignation to the Doom Slayer's concession. "I will then stay here with Doctor Alphys to monitor the mission. As for everyone else, we will need something the tether can be uploaded onto so that everyone can be pulled out once the objective is accomplished. We have prototypes of a wearable bracer onto which the tether hardware can be applied and the software can be uploaded. Upon my return, I'll make sure to bring them as well as the tether home module."

"What about me?" Papyrus still felt that lingering doubt and fear, reminding him of the terrors he had endured (and inflicted) in new home. Imagine what Frisk would think if she saw him, the Great papyrus, resort to killing and violence.... No. It had to be done this time. Hard decisions had to be made, and if he wanted to see Frisk and Sans and Undyne and all the others safe and sound, he could not hesitate. There was latent power he could lend to this fight. "I can help! Doomguy, take me with you"

His brother came to him, trying to help him realize that it wasn't going to happen. "C'mon bud." He said, putting an arm around his brother. "Doomguy's made up his mind. You remember what you told me a few minutes ago? I don't think you wanna fight, Pap..."

"I know I said I was nervous before, but I'm not anymore! I'm not scared! I can-"

"Pap..." Papyrus turned around to see the face of his trainer and friend, heartbroken to see the concerned and serious expression thereon. 'I really think you should listen to your brother."

"B-but..." Papyrus stammered in desperation, looking at the Praetorian only to see him nod to the affirmative on Undyne and Sans' advice. At that instant, his heart sank like lead. The Marine had seen his hesitation, his fear, and saw fit to put him on the sidelines. "Oh..Okay then..."

"It's alright bud." Sans attempted in vain to console his sibling. "You can stay here and help the guard, okay?"

"Okay... I'll do that." Papyrus walked with a slow, unenthusiastic gait, his brother holding him close as they made an exit.

"It's alright bro. You can still do good here, you know that right?'

"Yeah..."

"That's what a Royal Guardsman does, isn't it?" Sans jabbed papyrus softly in the side, trying to lift his spirits.

Papyrus perked his head up a bit before the elevator door closed. "... I suppose it is."

"Right then." Hayden felt relieved to be free of what he saw as mere schmaltz. "I only have so much time left before the tether activates. Once I'm gone, expect to wait an hour and a half to two hours before I come back with the needed tether technology. You can sort out whatever responsibilities remain among yourselves. Dismissed"

With that, Hayden went off to prepare himself for the tether. Minutes later, as it took him away in a great flash of blue arcs and thunderous noise, everyone began to ready themselves for his return, delegating responsibilities and preparing for the inter-dimensional trip.

"Mettaton, me and Dr Hayden will be watching over everyone going in with Doomguy. I'm gonna need you to keep tabs on security and make sure all entrances in and out of New Home are secure okay?"

"You got it darling." He gave her a customary wink before setting off to the security station.

"Make sure you keep in tabs with the guard and notify them of any breaches!"

"I hear you, Doctor!" his voice called out, echoing in the empty halls before the doors shut behind him.

Undyne called her men, giving them orders in lieu of her absence. In the meantime, Frisk came up to Alphys, having left Toriel and Asgore to talk one to another. "Hey Alphys.... Should we tell them?"

"Tell them what?"

"...About the flower?"

Upon those words leaving Frisk's lips, Alphys knew exactly who she was talking about, remembering that she had snooped around the lab beforehand. "Oh that... I mean, I think we all remember that thing a little bit before you destroyed the barrier, but why is he important? I assume he's gone, isn't he?"

"Alphys, do you know who it really is?"

"What do you mean?"

Finding the right words proved difficult. "... did you ever figure out what happens when you put DT in monster essence?"

Pieces were being put together in Alphys' mind, but not enough to paint a full picture. "No. Only on monsters who had fallen down. Why do you ask?"

"Alphys, why did you choose that flower in particular?"

More pieces came together and none looked good. "I-I heard it was where the Prince died... I thought it would be symbolic. I wanted to surprise Asgore... I wanted to give him hope that we could break the barrier without taking any more souls. A living reminder of the surface would have helped."

"Alphys, Asriel's essence was in that flower. Do you know what ended up happening?"

Clear pictures were forming, and they were quickly becoming too hideous to look at. "B-but that's... no it can;t be. I-I made sure! I looked through all of Gaster's notes, I looked over what had happened with the amalgamates-"

"Alphys..."

"...?"

"That Flower was Asriel."

The final picture had been elucidated and she couldn't take her eyes off of it for sake of her horror. "No..."

"Alphys..."

She was beginning to hyperventilate. "It-It doesn't have a soul, it couldn't... th-the control group was-"

"That flower absorbed his essence. It has his mind. That's enough for it to live."

"No..."

Her sharp breathing and unchecked voice had garnered attention from the others. Undyne primarily. "Al, is everything okay?"

Frisk waved her off, trying to keep her own voice subdued. "It's between us for now. Don't worry."

Undyne wouldn't take that for an answer, advancing as she concealed her radio. "Alphys, come on. You can tell me anything-"

That terrified look in her eyes told her otherwise. Frisk had to muster considerable gall to repel Undyne, but it was the only real option. "Undyne trust me. This is between just us for now, okay? Don't worry. We'll tell you everything about it later."

Against her better judgement, she relented, nodding and walking away, though it took a while for her eye to pull itself away. Frisk took a moment to thank whatever God there was for such a miracle as Undyne backing down before turning her attention to the panicking doctor. "Alphys, it's okay. You didn't know. We can still save him."

"They'll kill me..."

"No they won't. Not if we tell them the truth."

'Frisk, no! I-I can't! Not when they already have so much to worry about!"

 

"It's first step to saving him."

"...."

"Alphys-"

"After Asgore's back." The fearful girl could sense the determination in Frisk's voice. "Then we can tell them."

"Alright... we'll talk more about it later, okay?"

"Yeah...."

In the meantime, Asgore and Toriel had begun to argue about the King's decision to join the Hell Walker in his crusade. "Asgore, you're a damned fool! You don't know what you're up against!"

"Tori, you obviously did not see me when I joined him earli-"

"Dreemurr, I've told you enough about using that name."

"....Toriel..." He resigned his will to reignite old flames. "I can take them. Even their greatest have fallen to me."

"You'll get yourself killed!"

Feeling a little irritated at Toriel's pessimism, he snapped at her coldly. "Why do you even care?!"

She gasped, almost raising a hand to smack him before she regained herself, realizing what she has been saying. "Look, Asgore..."

The king's scowl melted back into the sullen, mild face he so constantly wore. "I'm sorry, Toriel. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"I know you didn't..." She replied in near equal timidness, now wearing a more sullen countenance. "... Just take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will." he said, putting hand under her cheek. "Don't you worry."

Normally, she would have smacked his hand away. For some reason or another, she didn't. She couldn't find the anger that she had stowed away just for him. It was there, but just not within her reach. "Okay... " Asgore lowered his hand. "I'll take care of things here while you're gone."

"Make sure everyone makes it out safe, dear."

"I will."

"And above all... make sure they don't lose hope."

Toriel took a step or two back before bidding a final farewell. "They won't"

_______________________

It was only another twenty minutes before Hayden was expected to return. At this point, apprehension was the only thing detectable in the silent, stagnant air of the lab compound. Alphys was scrolling through the Argent Project information over again, both fascinated and frightened by the UAC's work. To think that these people had been harvesting energy from Hell itself was alarming enough. It was only all the more disturbing when one read about the Lazarus labs and the blasphemous, unholy experiments conducted by Olivia and her surrogates. Although the information troubled her, Alphys found herself quite interested in the prospects and properties of Argent energy. The way it behaved, its energy output, its defiance of conventional physics, all reminded the royal scientist of the simple magic that so completely permeated the underground. The two were similar, albeit Argent's potential uses and power far exceeding conventional magic, both in terms of usefulness and in how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands. The applications were limitless. She could see how Hayden was so obsessed with it. With that, suspicion flowed anew into her mind. Their earlier conversation dripped with mention of Argent until the Praetor drew close. She knew she was in for a dangerous game of wits once the CEO came back. As to what that game would entail was anyone's guess.

She wasn't alone in the upper part of the compound. Mettaton was watching the security panels, now expanded from the main console's single screen to several dozen. Frisk, Papyrus, and Toriel were together on the top floor, the former two sitting together on the bed while the latter leaned up against the wall, near the bookshelves. In an effort to calm the child, Toriel had begun to recite a few stories her own children had loved, notwithstanding it was only 4:00 in the afternoon. Frisk was already tired from her recent adventure, but the events of the past few hours were keeping her awake. The occasional roar or demonic scream that came up from the security station below did not do much to ease her lingering fears. Noticing the unease creeping onto Frisk's countenance with every muffled screech and howl, Toriel tried to alleviate the situation as best as she could.

"Mettaton dear, are there any headsets you can use down there?"

"Yes, there's a set here at the station, darling. Why, is something wrong?"

"I'm just not sure we need to hear them so clearly, dear."

It didn't take too long for Mettaton to infer what she meant. Without another word, he plugged the spare headset into the console, and the lab went completely silent. "That better?"

"Very much so. Thank you." Toriel then continued her story. She didn't get too far in, however.

"Why don't you join us, Papyrus?" Frisk's question managed to get a fleeting glance from the skeleton.

"I'm alright." Papyrus' voice had lost its usual bombastic, affable volume. His gaze was focused on the floor

"You sure you're okay?" Frisk had truly come to care for the once happy-go-lucky skeleton, and seeing him so forlorn didn't do much to raise her spirits.

"Yeah..." 

"It doesn't seem like it. Can't you come over here, please?" She didn't need to ask him what was bothering him. All she knew was that a little time with some friends could perk him right up, at least hopefully. Luckily, her plea didn't fall on deaf ears. Papyrus walked over, picking a chair up from Alphys' desk before Toriel spoke up

"Oh no dear, you can sit here with us!" Toriel patted a spot next to her opposite Frisk. Papyrus silently complied, scooting the chair back and seating himself down next to the queen. Noticing his persisting melancholy mood, she asked him "Papyrus dear, why are you so upset?" wrapping an arm around him as Frisk sat up attentively.

"...Well, how can I _not_ be upset?"" The skeleton asked. "I mean, Frisk comes in and frees us all, and on the same day she breaks the barrier, this invasion happens and we're still trapped down here. On top of that... well... our new friend... I guess he saw me hesitate... Am I just not good enough? Did he not see me fight? Am I really that weak? Am I-"

"I think he knows your heart well, dear." Toriel's soothing, motherly nature permeated through her calm and caring voice. "I believe he knows your heart, and that the kind of tenderness you possess can be used elsewhere."

"I just want to help... I know I was scared and I still am a little, but..." Self-consciousness flooded him as he began to realize how much heavier the air was for his speech. "...I'm just.... I don;t want to let everyone down."

Frisk's voice succeeded a little in perking him up. "You certainly never let me down, or Sans."

"Maybe, I-... Look, I don't want to bring everyone down, I'm sorry..."

"Oh Papyrus..." said Toriel. "You need not dismantle yourself like this. If anything, it's saddening to see someone as loving and as happy as you so crestfallen."

"I don't want to feel like I'm weak, or worthless..."

"Papyrus, you are so, so very far from worthless. What, you thought your worth was dependent on whether or not you could fight? Is that what determines what a person is worth?"

Papyrus simply stayed silent, processing Toriel's counsel.

Toriel wrapped her arm around the heartbroken skeleton."My dear, you have so much more going for you than the strength of your arm or the potency of your magic. You wouldn't believe the wonderful things Sans has told me about you through that door. He's always telling me about how happy you are, how much you brighten everyone's day when you cross paths with them."

"He's buttering you up..."

"Oh he most certainly is not! After all, I definitely knew he wasn't lying about your smile, or your perky attitude, or your wonderful mannerism..." She could see conflict wrought in his face, an argument between his self-detrimental thoughts of worthlessness and weakness and the healing balm offered by her and Frisk's words of kindness. To Toriel's surprise, relief, and joy, the latter seemed to be winning. "Papyrus... there's so much good in you that you don't seem to be recognizing, so much worth in your soul... don't ever think you're worthless, dear. Ever. There's just too much good in you."

One last little lash out from his waning feelings of self-loathing spat itself out of Papyrus' lips. "it's kind of hard to see any good right now, I guess..."

"You're here with us." Frisk replied. "I think that's a good thing."

"You do?"

"For what it's worth, you certainly are a gallant young man." Toriel's smile beamed all the warmer as she saw Papyrus' oen smile slowly return. "When you jumped down to help Undyne, All I saw was a Royal Guardsman in all his courageous hue."

"Yeah..." frisk too remembered Papyrus' bravery. "You'll stay here and protect us, won't you?"

A smile began to come back to Papyrus' face. "Of course I will."

"Would you like me to continue the story?" Toriel's eyes were alight with rekindled motherly joy.

Deliberating for just a moment to let the last of his self doubt fade away, Papyrus replied, in sober contentment. "That'd be wonderful."

Downstairs, Undyne was keeping herself occupied with the Doom Slayer, training briefly with him as he brought up holographs of the various demon types for her to train on. Sans and Asgore weren't feeling as spry or enthusiastic, observing silently as they anticipated debarkation. Undyne stood with spear at the ready, her feet squared and positioned to accommodate her center of gravity. She focused intently on the Praetorian, who held a holographic device in one hand, holding out the other in an open palm. Undyne knew the signal; As the Slayer closed his hand and dropped the holograph, a display of a Hell Knight popped up and began to sprint towards Undyne, bellowing as it went. The captain held her ground, keeping her feet bounding slightly in anticipation for her next move. She dodged to the left as another holographic demon, this time a Hell razer, opened fire on her. She answered a near swipe from the Knight's claw with a quick dodge and a spear through the throat before strafing to the right and firing a spear at the Hell razer.. The illusory demons wailed in a death cry before disappearing. The slayer once again gave a thumbs up, signifying a job well done. Undyne wiped the sweat off her brow and gave a thumbs up back.

"Okay, I think I got it down." She sat down and caught her breath after having repeated the exercise several times. She had already felled several Hell Knights that day, and though her audacious, gymnastic leaping and charging seemed effective, the Doom Slayer had to correct her in her training, teaching her that it was better to dodge and strike when the opposition missed,as one did not always have friends to help deal with any encroaching demons in the periphery. it allowed for a quicker dispatch and promoted continuous mobility, rather than keeping oneself on the trunk of a demon for more than five seconds. Time was everything when these creatures surrounded their quarry, and one had to be constantly moving to stand a chance in battle with them. Attention could not be given exclusively to one demon.

'Wonderful work, captain!" Asgore heartily congratulated his former pupil. "Starting to remind me of the good 'ol days."

"I know right?" She replied, smiling. "I think I'm getting the hang of this..."

Sans remained silent. As the time crept closer for the Cyborg to return, all he did was activate the blue glow in his eye and on his hand every few minutes or so, picking up and holding small objects around the room with his telekinetic power, eyes to the ground.

"You alright, Sans?" Asgore's voice did little to shake him. "You've been awfully quiet all this time..."

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Sans still facied the floor. "Just kind of apprehensive, I guess."

"We all are." Asgore said as Undyne and The Marine resumed their training. "But I sense there's something else."

"Like what?"

"Well, take a look at them." He motioned towards the Doom Slayer and his new student. "I'm pretty sure Undyne is too, but she's finding an outlet for it. As for myself, I take comfort in knowing that it isn't my first rodeo. I've been through a few nasty fights before. There's still some nervousness, yes, but the more I watch our new friend, the safer i feel. Heh.. I bet this is just a little afternoon excursion for him."

"*pfft*... yeah I bet."

".... You've got something else on your mind though, don't you?"

"Just what are you getting at?" Sans didn't check the defensive tone in his voice as he turned up to face Asgore.

Asgore's expression was both that of concern and scrutiny. He paused for a moment before replying. "You tell me."

Sans response was delayed and deliberate, almost as much as it was subdued. ".... Just kinda tempted to tell the kid to reset."

"You think it's her?"

"Pretty sure it's her."

"I dunno, you were sending me those findings long before you and me knew about her."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she needed to find us before she started."

"Perhaps."

"......."

"Is that all that's on your mind though?"

Sans snickered a little bit. "Well, I dunno, there's the fact that we're literally about to dive into Hell itself. I mean, not like that's a big deal or anything, but-"

Asgore grimaced somewhat as he chuckled back. "Ah, I think we'll be fine." He turned his attention back to the Doom Slayer, who was now field stripping and checking his light machine gun, his sweating, red-haired pupil having dismissed herself to get a drink straight from the sink. "I believe we are in good hands."

Suddenly, a thunderous noise got their attention. Upstairs, eyes and ears were covered as Hayden's silhouette formed among the many blue arcs that signaled the tether's connection to their dimension. Alongside him was a large, metallic structure about twice his height. Loose wires piled behind it, and various interfaces appeared on its surface as the tether's residual energy faded away. Without delay, Hayden stepped forward, addressing all within earshot.

"Let's not waste any time."


	7. Debarkation

All was nearly quiet on the outside. The guard kept watch at the main entrances, locking themselves into a horrible staring contest with their unloving, snarling, menacing enemy. The horde was simply waiting. trying to see if their quivering quarry would break, looking for some sort of weakness either within them or their defenses. So far, no one had budged an inch. The tension in the air was taut to the point of snapping into violent, bloody frenzy. Every sudden snarl or bellow from the demons elicited a jolt or a flinch from the guardsmen, who retaliated in petulantly nocking arrows in false offense, or jerking as if to ready spear into the air.

The horde reacted in these bluffs similarly to how their prey reacted to theirs, and the greater among them, who hadn't indulged themselves in the bluffing, were getting visibly annoyed with both with their lesser brethren and the defiant guard facing them. A few imps were roughly swatted down to the ground by either a baron or a knight as abrupt punishment for their constant aggravation. The greater beasts knew they were in a disadvantageous position: Those guards had skewered any demon who raised a fireball towards them or the laser defenses. Inciting an attack was just going to be a waste of demonic blood. They had to use time to their advantage. Those guards would falter, one way or another. One of their switch-outs would go afoul, making one the of those great ballistas topple over, letting the demons attack the guard in the ensuing confusion and temporary disarmament. Perhaps the lasers would begin to falter, or perhaps-there was a structural weakness they could take advantage of, though none had been made apparent. Patience was the key. The barons knew it, and so did the summoners. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong, and knowing this, some of them bared teeth and gum in a twisted expression that vaguely resembled a smile. That little display did far more to unnerve the Royal guard then any snarling or yelping the imps or cacodemons could belt out.

Meanwhile, the shore party had gathered in the upper atrium of the compound, all gathering around Hayden. He stood front and center, surrounded by Asgore and Sans to his left and Undyne to his right. Alphys listened intently from her desk while Mettaton continued to monitor security, looking back every few moments to eavesdrop. The tether home module, about as tall as Hayden and twice as wide, covered in wires and a single operator's panel, stood behind the Cyborg. Toriel, Frisk, and Papyrus were close by, anxious ears hoping to catch word of what their loved ones were getting into.

"Here's the situation." Hayden pulled up another familiar artifact via hologram. It was a stone carving depicting a broad, ridged small sheild with what looked like endless lines of demonic jaws, and adorned at the center with a green gem similar to that found on the hilt of the Crucible. The Doom Slayer listened intently as the Cyborg told his new allies about it, arms crossed, eyes focused intently on the CEO and staring through the holographic prize hovering in front of him. Hayden attempted to conceal his notice as he spoke. "What you see here is the counterpart to the crucible. It is called 'The Siphon.' Similarly to the crucible, it is capable of harnessing great amounts of Argent Energy, and it is most likely what is fueling their current invasion."

"How come you weren't able to tell us this before?" Asgore's suspicion began to flicker like waxing candlelight. Information this important disclosed so gradually waved a few red flags.

"I was unsure of what it was beforehand. Shortly after returning to my home dimension and readying the bracers, I went to my personal office. There, I decided to look at our most prized artifact, the Helix stone, via holo-display. Alphys, I believe you're familiar with it?"

"That I am." She briefly scrolled through her new device's interface before finding a display of the stone."Talking about this?"

"Indeed. Now Doctor, if you will zoom in on the primary stone, just a little under the Argent sigil?"

"Okay... right here? Under the Crucible rune?" She then pointed to one of the many glowing runes on the stone.

"Precisely. My associate, Olivia Pierce, had been studying that stone for years. I always had the feeling she was hiding things about it from me, and when she opened the Hell Portal on Mars, there wasn't a doubt left in my mind. While the devices were being prepared, I took some time to decrypt some of her personal files. Years ago, she had interpreted that rune to mean something mundane: another realm of Hell or something like that. I trusted her judgement at the time and thought nothing of it. Then, as I searched her personal files, I found a rune translation key she had kept hidden from me, as it differed from what she had published to the Board Archives. Upon re-scanning the Helix Stone with it, I found several of her translations to be intentionally incorrect. Among her discrepancies was the true meaning of that rune you've pointed to; the Siphon rune. In addition, while the Crucible was sending out its beacon, some of our probes in Hell detected an energy spike somewhere beyond the Great Steppe in the Seventh Circle. I knew it couldn't be coincidental, especially when it spiked again as Hell began its invasion of the underground."

Undyne's hand laid under her chin, a quizzical expression borne on her face. "Okay, so our objective is to get into that realm and remove the Siphon. That's gonna stop this whole mess?" 

"As far as I can deduce, yes, it will."

"Looks like it's time to get the party started then." Needless to say, not everyone felt as casual about all of this as Sans seemed to be, his calm tone owing to his appearing carelessness. In all reality he felt the same amount of dread as anyone else. "When and where do we start? I don't think it would be a good idea to open a portal in here. Can your tether send us there?"

"Hell is... very finicky about how it lets things in and out." Hayden replied. "Direct coordinates have proven difficult to pinpoint, and without those, a tethering operation cannot be carried out. We will need a more precise approach. The Praetorian here will open a portal for us with the crucible."

"Why not use the portal they used to get in?" Alphys' inquiry didn't get an immediate answer.

Hayden hesitated slightly. 'We don't want to waste time dealing with the horde outside. It's better to sneak past them and open another portal. The quicker we get this done, the better." He then pointed to the Praetor. "Now, if you would show us what I'm talking about, sir?"

Everyone turned their attention to the Doom Slayer, who now held his rightful prize in his hands. Everyone gasped as the Hell Walker activated its great, glowing blade with a flick of his wrist. All the while, the Slayer wondered just what Hayden was playing at. He now knew about the Siphon; did he know about what it would do when paired with the Crucible? Was he trying to repay him in some way? Torn between a distant elation and an immediate suspicion, his thoughts were interrupted by Hayden, continuing his instructions.

"Now, as Sans stated, this isn't the place to open it. You will all need to be inserted beyond the security checkpoint somewhere in New Home."

"That's what I thought." Asgore's sudden break of silence drew eyes to him. "We'll need a more covert entryway. Coming in through the front door will be impossible."

Mettaton spoke up. "Best place looks to be around this maintenance entrance from the core. Haven't seen any of them around there for an hour now. I think they're all making their way towards the main entrance." His gloved finger pointed out a monitor that seemed devoid of demonic presence; some sort of maintenance passageway by the look of the bare brick walls and exposed wiring with little light to illuminate it all.

"Looks like that's your insertion point." Hayden was visibly gladdened that all the talking was about over. "I think it's time you all got ready." He pointed to a crate of ammunition and other supplies he had brought from the UAC base.

The Doom Slayer, took his fair share of ammunition, reloading his chaingun and taking as many shotgun shells as his Argent fueled suit would let him. In they went into his suit's storage system, ready to be automatically loaded into his arsenal as soon as the chambers of his weapons went empty. Undyne stretched and practiced her stances. Asgore flared his fire magic, his last encounter with demonkind being the first time he's used his power to its full extent in a very, very long time. Sans simply cracked his neck, lit his eye in its blue form, beginning to pace as everyone else readied themselves.

The party then fit the smooth, white, metallic tether bracers onto their forearms, each of them adorned with some sort of holographic screen that seemed to hover over the sleek surface of the device.

"Alright, do you know what you're doing, Toriel?" Asgore walked over to his former Queen. One who wears their heart on their sleeve will find it hard to conceal emotion, least of all affection.

Though she detected it, Toriel felt it best to pay no heed either way. "It'll take some effort to get everyone out, given the entrance to the surface from the ruins goes up several stories. I think we can manage, though."

"Just stay safe."

"We will. Frisk, come along, dear. We need to get everyone gathered up."

"Okay."

"Papyrus, are you coming?"

"Just a minute." He was kneeling near his brother. "You promise me you're coming back in one piece, okay Sans?"

"Ah, you know I will, bud." he said, hugging his sibling. "We'll be back in no time."

Alphys and Undyne were saying similar goodbyes. "Hold the fort down while I'm gone, okay Al?" Undyne's words felt as sweet to Alphys as the kiss they had both just shared.

"I will."

"You know I believe in you, right?"

A nagging, dying voice in Alphys' head wanted to contest Undyne's encouragement. it hadn't strength to overpower what she knew and felt in her heart "Yeah... I know..." Those words left out of a weak, but persistent smile.

"Don't ever forget that"

"I'll never forget it.... Stay safe, Undyne." Alphys' quiet words wrapped around Undyne like a blanket as she walked away to join the rest of the shore party.

"Don't you worry."

As the group made their way to the door, two words from Alphys were heard before the door shut behind them.

"Good luck."

Frisk and her company bid a final farewell to the shore party before they parted ways. She looked back as they took a differing route leading them to the maintenance shaft.

Suddenly, she saw movement behind them.

It was small, and seemed to notice when any of the shore party would see it. It ducked back underground when Undyne turned all the way around, engaging in a conversation muffled by distance and white noise. Frisk knew who it was. She focused on the little hole he left behind, wondering what he was planning on doing. it felt all too tragic to know that only a few hours ago, she saw him as he really was, unspoiled and whole. Did he remember it at all? Such thoughts has an easy way of gripping her mind. Easy enough that self awareness took a back seat. Nevermind that Papyrus was trying to talk to you, or that the cavern air was getting terribly humid.

Or that perhaps, you were still facing backward.

"What is it , dear?" Toriel's concern wasn't hard to incite. "Do you see something?"

"Oh.." Frisk was trailing off as she spoke. "No, I was just watching them."

"Don't worry." Papyrus' native cheeriness had begun to resurface. "They'll be back soon."

As the Shore party vanished from her view, Frisk let her concerned mind govern her speech. "I hope..."  
_______________________

They could all hear the hell spawn growling and roaring throughout the chamber of New Home, their bellowing cries echoing through the pipes and ventilation shafts of the maintenance corridor. Though it was distant, it made everyone's blood curdle, save of course for the Doom Slayer. He had heard their ugly chorus a million times before, it was almost odd not being able to hear the echoes of their hideous voices. All the time he had spent in Hell had conditioned him to the sound. It was as mundane to him as birds singing in the morning/ Now that he had not heard it in so relatively prolonged a time, it felt like he was right back home after a short trip. It was a sick twist of that normal feeling, but it was all he really knew.

They came a good distance from without the door, making their way through the corridors of the Palace basement until they had reached the outer plaza. The light within the chamber had become blood red, a noxious fume floating through the air. Demons could be seen crawling through the streets and on the walls, with massive, floating beasts hovering in herds through the putrid air while towering red monstrosities prowled the streets. Many buildings had been toppled or destroyed, with some of the perpetrators at work on other edifices, tearing them down out of destructive boredom and aggression. The sight awoke deep feelings of anger and spite within the monsters surrounding the Doom Slayer. This was their home, and now it lay in partial ruins now occupied by hideous, demonic aberrations. They would be ousted soon enough.

"I know we're just here to open a portal..." Undyne remarked on the situation with shrunken pupil and scowling brow. "But I can't tell you guys just how badly I wanna skewer each and every one of them right now.."

"Patience, dear. 'Asgore could always tell when Undyne was deeply uupset. "Focus on what we're here to do. Now, where are we gonna open it..."

Suddenly, a familiar flash of red light lit up beside them. The Doom Slayer had activated the Crucible, its glowing Argent blade flooding the darkness around them with terrible crimson light that overpowered the dim redness of the chasm. He took a deep breath, holding his sword with both hands straight in front of him, the blade's edge facing fore and aft so that its profile ran a line straight in front of him. He took a step forward, squaring his weight on both feet and swinging the sword in a great horizontal cutting motion, the blade resting to the right and behind him. A red light emanated from his 'cut', as if he had torn a space between Hell and the Underground. He quickly followed up, sending the blade upward, making an askew 'X' in the air. The fissure expanded to reveal the Underworld itself, and the group looked on in awe as the Great Steppe of the Seventh Circle opened up before them in all its horrible, grey, hellish hue.

"Nice..." Sans had little to say, for there wasn't much he could say that could articulate what he felt seeing such a horrid vista. "Alright, so we just jumping in, or-"

He was cut short out of disbelief as the Praetor took a great leap into the opening. Silence followed before Sans walked up to the portal, looking down to see that it hovered above several cliffs and bones that extended for several meters out of the ground. "Looks like a long way down..."

"Well, no use just standing around is there?" Without another word, Undyne leaped into the portal.

"All ashore that's coming ashore..." Asgore muttered with dread as he ran in after them.

Sans found himself alone for a moment, pausing a bit before getting over his apprehensions. "Here goes nothing..."

And with that, he too took a bounding step into the darkened plains of Hell.


	8. Fool's Errand

The air was clammy and cold, stinking with decay and perpetual rot. A bleak, grey palette covered the smoldering, craggy landscape. Skeletal remains covered the place, and colossal bones could be seen jutting out of the ground in the distance. The sky was dead. Grey. Lifeless. Every footstep sounded in a quiet, sickening squelch. Whether it was mud or rotting flesh, no one could be sure.

The Doom Slayer knew it all like the back of his hand, to a certain extent. Much had changed in the ages intervening his entombment and uncovering, but enough was still here that he could recognize. Not too far off was the pile of rotting flesh and cankering bone that marked the site of one of his old victories. The fallen titan's horns could be seen jutting out in the horizon, off to the west.

Undyne wasn’t sure how to take it all in. The enormity of where she was and what she was seeing was only barely dawning on her. “You uh… you know where we’re going, Doomguy?”

The Praetor nodded and kept walking, pointing to what looked to be an archway of bone set into a rotting superstructure of cadaverous rot, its form no different from the various piles - no - mountains of dead meat that lay around for miles around them. There was a single, unlit brazier set atop a bony altar at its entrance, and a shattered, demonic skull missing half its teeth kept watch over the doorway

Static cut over the silence as the Captain raised her bracer. “Undyne to base, you guys have a visual on us?”

Hayden’s voice was an unwelcome alternative to Alphys’. “Loud and clear. We see you just fine. The Marine should be able to guide you the rest of the way.”

Asgore could scarce peel his eyes from the tunnel. “Anything we should know?”

“Not much you don’t already know. Based on what we know of Hell’s containment procedures, you will be advancing through an entire complex of fortifications, traps, and demonic resistance.”

“Sounds fun…” Sans quipped.

_______________________

"Keep on your guard and report back when you have the Siphon." Hayden responded with clinical calmness. "We'll see you all shortly."

Alphys timidly sat at her desk, now adjacent to the Home module. The two main workstations had been enjoined together in a mess of wiring and tubing. Panels had opened around the module to form a temporary workstation, where Hayden was busying himself, watching what his probes were observing in Hell. Both him and Alphys had access to communication with the shore party, a comms set connected to the tether module ran on both of their workstations. As the CEO continued to scan his own monitors, Alphys decided to study to stave her anxiety, as the silence in the lab was broken only by the occasional electronic sounds from Hayden's module and Mettaton's post. The more she knew about this the better.

The UAC device wasn’t as hard to connect to her computer as she had thought. Archaic as her technology was in comparison, the device was able to detect its storage, allowing her to transfer files.

**DEVICE DETECTED**

**DATA TRANSFER CAPABILITY: MODERATE**

**INITIATE?**

She tapped the command on the device.

Opening the UAC data archives, one entry in particular interested her: "gore nest." Attached to the description was a grisly image of what looked like a toothy maw comprised of ribs and human flesh, deformed heads and guts adorning the entirety of the anomalous abomination.

_Studies of demons upon entering this dimension have shown that their conduct is not purely vindictive - there is a method behind their actions. When a demon captures their prey, the fresh kill is taken to a temporary ceremonial site where arcane rituals are performed on the pile of blood and gore._

_When enough corpses have been gathered, the ceremonial site becomes a "Gore Nest". These sites, imbued with Hell energy from the rituals, act as umbilical cords to Hell. Extreme caution must be taken when approaching a Gore Nest. Attacking the nest, or indeed any demons within close proximity to the nest, will act as an alarm and siphon more demons from Hell._

"That's... interesting...."

"What is?"

"AHH!"

She turned to see him facing her, robotic hands gripping his own workstation. He appeared tense, and his blank, solitary blue visage only added to the awkward tension now in the air.

"Oh, j-just reading up on um... gore nests."

"Are you now?"

"Yeah.." She pointed to her monitor.

"...What have you found that interests you?"

"Oh it's just that... well, I'm glad they can't make one out of us. W-we turn to dust when we die..."

"Yes, and?"

"Well, um..." Hayden's gaze was not wavering, and it curdled every drop of blood in Alphys' body. "I-I'm just wondering how they got here. I mean, if one of them managed to sneak in here and kill some monsters for a gore nest, I-I don't think it would work all too well... Soooo it just makes me wonder how they opened a portal here..."

Hayden stayed silent for a moment before replying. "That remains a puzzle to me as well... perhaps you can share more information with me on your race, Doctor?"

"Of course!" She meekly handed over a small, but somewhat thick textbook to Samuel. "Th-This kind of expounds on what we talked about earlier. It should give you s-some more insight."

Samuel gingerly picked up the small book from the quailing scientist's hands. "Intriguing..." His voice purred with every flipped page. The title page read ‘A Concise History of Monsterkind.’ As he turned the pages, he interacted with his console, resulting in the several arms holding up the monitors expanding and swinging towards Alphys. "Think you can watch them while I read for a bit? It should only take a few minutes. The cybernetic upgrades to my cerebrum allow me to read and process information much faster than I could in life."

"Definitely!" Alphys' reply rung with personal disturbance The implications of _'what I could in life'_  were not doing much to ease her mind. "I-I'll just be watching over them then."

"Wonderful!"

___________

The monsters quickly learned that going inside did not mean shelter. Something about this place felt so primordial, so ageless. A kind of power, indescribable and inexorable, exercised itself upon them as they traversed through the lifeless hallways. Each rune on the wall seemed to etch itself in their sight as they looked over them. There were carvings in the stone that depicted faces, old and unknowable and demonic, and though their eyes were solid stone, the monsters could feel their dead gaze trailing them. That was only the first set of halls. Every face of this labyrinthine complex bore some sort of visage or iconography, and every eye catching them would find itself ensnared, unable to look away. Their footsteps were the only sound to be heard, and it felt like every inch of the walls had been keeping silent, listening to them, watching them with a keen and vile eye.

Every tunnel and corner felt like it was leading into a loop. Time had been lost to them, and minutes and hour became easily convoluted.

They all nearly jumped when they heard a low, hard knocking in the stone. The tight corridor encapsulated them in the sound, and it took a second for their eyes to find the origin.

They looked and saw the Doom Slayer at the end of the hall, knocking on the wall for their attention. He leaned out somewhat from the corner.

“Wh-huh? What is it, big guy?” Quickly fading was Undyne’s boisterous volume.

The Marine waved his arm in, bidding them follow. It didn’t register with any of them at the moment, but they had spent two minutes walking for about twenty yards.

It dawned on Asgore soon enough. ** _“*ahem*_** Right then everyone, let’s pick up the pace….”

Hard as they tried, as much as they quickened their pace, they could not completely look away. It was almost like the faces were calling to them, whispering to them.

What they saw next screamed at them

The door to the next chamber looked like it was running afore the Slayer, stretching out and away forever. The walls were no longer stone, but thick, rusted iron bars holding back skeletal remains. Arms reached out into the passageway, and legs drooped out from the bottom of the ossuary on either side.

The King nearly halted, and his flesh went clammy.

Undyne nearly passed him before she noticed. “Asgore, what’s wrong?”

“Keep moving.”

“Wha-“

Sans was evidently more eager to move on as he passed them both. “Just follow Doomguy.”

They looked at their de facto leader again and saw once more his impatient beckoning. Not wanting to irritate him, all three picked the pace back up to a brisk jog. Somehow, the exit still looked as if it were fleeing, keeping pace, if not exceeding it, but the more they looked at the Doom Slayer, the more it stayed stationary. They all seemed to finally be catching up.

Something snagged onto Asgore’s cloak. He looked down to free himself of it…

It was a human hand. Its owner stared at the King with empty sockets.

Without a word, he hurriedly swatted it away and continued. No one else caught it for the moment, but his breathing was quickening.

Just keep going. Don’t look at them. Hurry. The others are going to leave you behind…

Undyne kept her eyes on Sans and the Praetor. Every dead gaze vied for her attention. Every shadow cast upon their hollow eyes stuck with her as she passed each small sconce. That’s when she noticed something was amiss with the shadows. The familiar armor and horns of her king no longer cast their shadow over her as they passed each torch.

He nearly tripped on another limb; a dry leg laying on the floor. Its parent was buried under other remains

Don’t look at it. Don’t look at them. Just keep looking at the Doom Slayer. Focus on him. Focus on-

Something else latched to his robe, eliciting his nervous chagrin. She tried swiping it away again, expecting the same dry bones, cold, hard, and brittle.

But he felt something soft. Still cold, yes, and just as lifeless, but soft.

The Captain slowed her pace.

“Asgore?”

He looked down at the hand and saw sickly pale flesh, veins black with dead blood, tracing back past a short purple sleeve into an unseen shoulder. Another hand, just as small and just as lifeless could be seen jutting out from beside it, clasping a purple notebook.

“No…’ the word barely rasped past his lips as he tried desperately to shove off the little hand’s grasp. Each touch was maddeningly cold. His jog was quickly becoming a scramble, his balance wavering as dizziness took him.

Another ‘no’ fell out of his throat as he shambled forward. His hands covered his head, and his eyes peeked out from between tightening fingers.

“Asgore!” Undyne ran back as she saw the King well behind them, staggering as if drunken.

Sans and the Praetor both looked back in confusion and mounting frustration. “Undyne! What are you-?!”

The Doom Slayer closed his eyes as they came to a stop. He knew what was happening

He could not escape each skull’s scrutiny. He could feel their dead stares crawling over him alongside his sins. His breathing was becoming ever louder, and every other breath or so would squeak past his throat with an involuntary whimper on its tail.

So many empty skulls, so many empty visages

Except for that smaller one on the left. There was a cowboy hat concealing it, torchlight glimmering off its dead eyes.

The King clenched his teeth, restraining screams that felt like they would rip their way out of him.

Suddenly something different. Blue. Alive. Familiar.

**“Asgore!”**

“huh?!”

“Asgore what’s wrong?”

Sans’ yelling reverberated in the small space. “GUYS! COME ON!”

“Nothing, keep going….”

The Hell Walker shook his head and took to the gate around the bend. The skull switch before it was crumbled, and with seeming deliberation as the claw marks on it attested.

The King pushed his old pupil forward, hoping by this gesture to take her mind off him, to get it back on track and focused on the exit. It wasn’t working. She was still looking back on him as they ran forward, quickly closing the distance between them and the others.

“COME ON! HURRY UP!”

“We’re coming!”

More dead stares robbed Asgore of speech. Every single one seemed to be focusing on him and him only. He had to close his eyes, trust his feet would carry him without tripping. Sadly, his eyelids granted no asylum. He could still see them, burned in his vision like bright flashes, the outlines of each face shaded under the brow, disappearing, reappearing, blinking….

“ASGORE!”

That wasn’t Undyne’s voice

He stopped suddenly, opening his eyes. Sans was inches away, holding up glowing hands as if ready to catch him. His eye burning blue for half a second before relenting.

He wanted to ask what was wrong, but some pressing sense shut his mouth. “Doomguy needs help lifting this gate. Let’s go.”

He wouldn’t ask, but Undyne would. “Asgore, what’s wrong?”

The King looked back. The Notebook, the hat, and their owners were gone.

“Nothing.”

“That didn’t look like nothing.”

With one look, she was silenced. Seldom in the past did he have to use it, and mostly when she was still a rambunctious child. Still, she knew what he was saying with that stern stare,

_Drop it._

They joined the other two at the defunct door. Their combined strength got the stone slab up easy enough. What wasn’t easy was taking in the gust of air that hissed forth from the opening.

Two knew the smell, two didn’t. Asgore was fighting his urges to cringe at the memory that smell brought. The other monsters were taken aback by it, unsure of what exactly was in the air. The room before them seemed shrouded in a thin mist, and details were hard to make out, save for a deep, dark hue of red that permeated the fog.

Undyne looked deep into the mist and something occurred to her. “Something’s up… we haven’t met a single demon here… not out in the open spaces, not in the halls, nowhere.”

Asgore began tapping his bracer. “I’ll send a message out to base… tell them we found nothing.” His cringe was starting to show through.

Upon noticing his wince, Undyne took a whiff with her tongue and nearly coughed it out at once. “What _is_ that?”

Sans took a step or two in. “Smells like… like metal or something.”

___________

More terrifying to Alphys than what she knew was what she didn’t know. Asgore’s last dispatch was more than just a curious anomaly. There was so much more about these demons she had yet to figure out, so much Hayden was holding back, so much Asgore couldn’t tell her, so much she could not see.

She wasn’t going to take one more blind step.

She opened the UAC database, scurrying though each tab to the sound of Hayden’s constant page turning, each papery flip like the subdued ticking of a timer. She had no idea where to start, where she should look, or what she should even be looking for. There were entries on the UAC’s research complex, but for one reason or another, none of the potential troves of knowledge in those facilities appealed to her. There were entries on demons and Hell’s lore and culture, but she flipped past them almost as fast as she found them.

But something caught her eye.

An entry dubbed _The Helix Stone_

The answers, about the invasion about how the Crucible and Siphon worked… it had to be in there, somewhere.

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

"... It is, D-doctor Hayden..."

"May I ask you why you let your eyes of the monitors?"

"I-I got distracted-"

"I'd highly suggest you shift you focus back on your assignment, Doctor... If I were you, I'd be keeping close tabs on my friends. After all, who knows what they'll come up against? It would be a shame if they got hurt because you were neglecting them..."

“Asgore just mes-messaged me. H-he told me they’ve met no resistance.”

"Really now…"

Hayden then shifted his attention from his diminutive partner to the monitoring screens. True to Alphys' word there it was, in the corner of the comms screen.

_“Still going. No resistance yet”_

"Now that's intriguing..." he said, his voice growing notably lower and more subdued. "Well then, get back to work, Doctor." He began to lightly pat her on the shoulder, letting his hand linger a little thereon and rotating his thumb somewhat in a sort of massaging action. "Let's not get too distracted. It'll only take me another five minutes to read the rest of your book. Your race's history and morphology... interests me."

"Y-yes Doctor Hayden… Uh, wait…."

"Yes?"

"Do you have Olivia's key with you?"

Hayden was silent as he faced her.

"I mean, it might help if I can get a better look at the Helix Stone, o-or if you have her correct translations on hand."

"... I have neither." he said, as he turned again to face his workstation.

Alphys looked to her left. Mettaton was facing away, eyes glued to the security feed, but his dorsal bomb batteries were silently retracting.  
__________________________

The mist obscured what lay below the narrow stone pathway. The Doom Slayer had slowed his pace, and he had his pump shotgun out, scanning the walls for clambering imps or floating lost souls that never came. Everyone else was armed too. The extended lull had begun to plant seeds of paranoia in their minds. Eyes were darting everywhere, mostly down, to ensure their footing.

The Captain would notice her King’s eyes were not nearly as willing to face down as everyone else, but why? What was repulsing him like this? She tried to make it out past the wispy steam.

She immediately wished she hadn’t. There were bodies down there. Red. Wet. Soaked. Soaked in…

Blood.

“Wh-why aren’t they moving?’

“Undyne dear, keep going.”

“Asgore why don’t”

“They’re dead.”

Sans’ words hit her like lead. “What?”

“Humans don’t turn to dust. They just go still. Just keep moving….”

_They just go still_

_They bleed and go still_

Everything about that thought haunted Undyne. Soon enough she couldn’t bear to look at them either.

The next set of rooms let in the sky’s light in generous gaps and open spaces. Perfect illumination for the bodies hanging from rusted cages, impaled by the dozen on iron spikes, and crushed under stone blocks, crammed underneath one another.

Death wasn’t just a fleeting moment anymore for Undyne. It wasn’t slowly closing eyes and a sudden pile of dust. It was right there, in front of her, frozen and permanent. Staring at her. Reaching for her…

“Undyne!”

The King’s call jolted her out of her catatonia. She was far enough behind that is necessitated a raised voice to reach her. She only got a glimpse of his face as he waved her in; still pale, still hollow. She took off after them, not wanting to aggravate her team any further. It didn’t take long to catch up, but then, it didn’t take long to get distracted either, not once they had exited the tunnels.

Now they were in an open space, a courtyard of sorts that served as a porch for what looked like a great temple, its craggy, twin-steepled architecture lit dimly by what little light creeped through the grey clouds. Green hellfire lit its entrance, and the Doom Slayer’s pointing seemed to intimate that this was indeed their destination. To others looked and began to follow him thereto. Undyne hadn’t.

She couldn’t bring herself to look away from the dozens, if not hundreds of corpses surrounding her, all stuck through the chest or ran through from groin to shoulder by those iron spikes. From her left, to her right, it was all she could see.

Then she saw Frisk

Her eyes were shot open, their pupils dilated and dead. One arm clutched the spike while another reached up, as If pleading for mercy. Blood gushed out of her mouth and onto her sweater, sullying the blues and purples with oppressive sanguine red. Jutting from her bleeding gut was another one of those awful spikes.

This one was blue, however. Bloody cloth clung to a cruel spearhead, soaking a good portion of the shaft in crimson...

**“AAAAUUUGGHHH!”**

The sight knocked her onto her back as horror seeped the strength from her legs and stabbed her through the heart. Mortified reeling swayed to attempted rescue as she tried crawling towards the bleeding human, calling out desperately for her. She soon felt soul magic lifting her up, and two pairs of strong hands pulling her away.

**"FRISK! NO! _FRIIIISK!"_**

“Undyne! Undyne, Snap out of it!”

“B-but she, I saw her-“ In frantically turning from Asgore to the spike, she saw that Frisk was gone, and the hodgepodge of words falling out of her died in her throat.

She felt the Doom Slayer turning her around by the shoulder, running both her and Asgpre over with that stone visage of his. There was concern there, and it amplified the longer he saw the dread in their eyes. He raised a hand, palm skyward in sync with a deep breath, cueing them to do the same. It wasn’t much, and it certainly was less than either needed, but it had to do for the moment. He didn’t look back as he headed for the last chamber. The delay between his footstep and theirs was testament enough to their state of mind. Sans wasn’t keeping up anymore. He was staying with the others.

The wooden gate’s switch had also been sabotaged, and it took a little more muscle to get it open. It was more than just the door’s weight that got everyone’s breathing and heartrate up. There had to be something big waiting for them. An ambush comprised of legions of their fodder, or perhaps a champion of theirs who waited to grind them bones to powder. Anticipation gave way to adrenaline, and it fueled their combined strength and magic until the door was high enough for all to pass.

As soon as they let go and faced their supposed assailants, they immediately knew something was wrong.

There was no short of demons here. Must have been a little over a hundred in this room alone. Curious then, was the source of their demise, and why so many of their burnt carcasses lay around that stone pedestal in the middle of the room. In the middle of that pedestal was a cavity, roughly shaped like a shield and perfectly empty.

If those demons still drew breath, they would have lost it in seconds. The Praetorian shook with rage, inciting every ounce of self-restraint to keep himself from exploding, form tearing the temple apart with his bare hands..

Asgore was first to contact the lab. "Shore party to Base, this is Asgore…. there's nothing."

"What?!" Barely contained fury burned in Hayden's reply. "No, you're lying, it has to be-!"

"Oh, we're serious, Hayden." Sans responded to Hayden losing his cool with indignant scorn. "There's just a big empty shield shaped hole in this pedestal. Bunch of burned up demons bodies too."

"That's impossible..." Frustration strained Hayden's voice with every syllable he spoke.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's possible." Sans answered him now in tired sarcasm. "I mean who knows, maybe they knew we were coming and they sent it off somewhere."

"How are we gonna find where it is?" Alphys asked. "There's gotta be a way to trace its energy. Doctor Hayden, maybe I can take a look at those monitors again?"

"Leave them to me." He replied coldly. "Let me just do a quick scan..." he then assumed control of a probe from one of the monitors. What he saw confirmed his fears and the party's report "Well what do you know..."

"What?"

"They really have taken it... They're re-interring it somewhere in its home of Argent D'Nur, based on recent Hell energy signatures in the vicinity. They teleported it there somehow, and without the Well, they must have resorted to more primitive means. I think they know its owner is looking for it, and they want to greet him on his old home turf..."

"Alright, well, is there a way to get there while we're here?" Asgore asked.

"No..." Hayden replied. "Pulling you out..."


	9. Coming Clean

Hayden paced around the room with a hand under his chin, staying silent as the group overcame the nauseating effects of tether travel. All were weary and unsteady on their feet. The Doom Slayer had known what inter-dimensional travel felt like, as he had been subject to it on countless occasions. Still though, he felt a need to sit down. His impatient fury with the removal of the Siphon combined with the physical sickness he had once learned to suppress to burn in a raging headache which pounded like war drums in his temples. He took his helmet off, cringing, squinting, exhaling a gale through his nose. He put both hands to his head, rubbing his aching temples with his thumbs. The demons had always feared him, and though this last gesture seemed to re-affirm that fear, he felt as if they were toying with him. Playing with him. Taunting him with the prospect of saving that which he most cherished before ripping it away, as if they hadn't done enough to incite his wrath. His teeth gritted in barely contained rage. his pupils shrunk. His eyelid quivered. In an attempt to calm himself down, he envisioned his victory. It would be his soon enough. He would reclaim what they had so perniciously taken from him, and in his triumph, he would would gloat himself upon their bleeding bodies. They would know regret and rue, from the greatest to the least of them. Victory would be his, as soon as he retrieved the Siphon.

Then, in that moment, amid the headache and the heart pounding prospect of consummate victory, his rational thoughts returned to him as he saw the pacing Cyborg.

Hayden wanted it too.

What Hayden said about the crucible knowing only the Praetor's hand was true, at least to his knowledge... or was it?

He who the demons called the Wretch was only a memory now. His face long forgotten, and his words even further rusted by the erosion of time. Few of them remained intact in his mind, the landscape of his memory changed by the eons, reshaped by every bloody crusade he fought through the Shadow Realms.

"Your armaments, wrought from the molten fires of the the Malebolge, cooled by the cruel winds of Cocytus..."

"Free your Gods. Take their power. Show the Dark Lords that their plunder cannot stay with them."

"Their power is yours. Their power is two-fold..."

"When made whole, your heart's great desire..."

"Let them not be taken... They cannot..."

"He that brings them together..."

"... and it shall be theirs."

Only so many of those words still had meaning, and that which accompanied them had long been lost. It was enough however. He knew the Cyborg wanted their power, and when he would obtain his prize, it would be stolen from him again, even if not as abruptly or boldly as it had been so before. He had to know, however, what these artifacts would do when combined, right? Surely he knew what the Doom Slayer intended to use that power for. There was no way he'd get in the way of that. He was stupid and short-sighted enough to try and take Argent for himself, blinded enough by his greed that sixty thousand lives meant nothing but a stepping stool to his own glory, and audacious enough to steal from him, but he would never try and get in the Scourge's way of realizing his ultimate goal. The thought almost made him laugh. There was no way.

Trying to conquer hell was a fools gambit. Trying to cheat the man who had more or less conquered it himself was a fools' suicide.

Continuing to eye the meandering CEO, he turned a little to see Alphys shaken up somewhat, her expression bearing a genuine dread. He got up to walk over to her, certain that she had something to say to him. She immediately looked up at him, and with the relieved look in her eyes, he knew his hunch was right.

"I'm glad you're back." She whispered to him, letting the loud and somewhat sickening nausea induced noises of recovering tether travelers cover her voice from potential scrutiny from Hayden. "I need your help..."

The Doom Slayer took a knee, ears open.

"Okay... Samuel's hiding something..." Every hushed word made her heart race, as she anticipated an untimely interception from Hayden at any moment. She glanced over at him; he faced the opposite way, seemingly oblivious to all else. "I tried reading up on how they make portals and he grilled me for it. Then I tried looking at the helix stone... he didn't approve of that."

The Doom Slayer nodded with tucked lips and narrowing eyes.

"I need to know if you know much about that stone. He claimed he didn't have Olivia's key, but I Know he's lying. Do you know what it really says? What it's talking about?"

The Praetor simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Please! isn't there anything you can do to-?"

The Marine hushed her with a finger on his lips. He looked over at Hayden, who still seemed quite distracted, especially now that Asgore had begun to engage him. Keeping his eyes on the Cyborg, he pulled something out from one of the pouches on his waist. It appeared to be some sort of electronic device, or a hard drive of some sort.

"What's that?" Alphys asked.

The Praetorian opened up his log and toggled over to "UAC Staff." there, in all capital letters was a picture of some sort of blue, circular patterning, coupled with a name.

"VEGA... so this... he... will help me?"

The Slayer nodded.

"Okay... I'll read up on him." She stashed the hard drive away under the mess that occupied her desk.

"I think I might toss my lunch..." Undyne whined, slouching into a corner near the security station. "Hayden, you sure you can't make the ride a bit smoother?"

Everyone wore deaf ears except for Alphys and Mettaton, the latter of whom addressed her "I think he's preoccupied, darling."

Amid further conversations from the four sitting around the monitoring stations, Asgore's conversation with Hayden began to increase in volume and severity.

"Hayden, my people and my kingdom are depending on your ability to find this thing. I saw them in New Home, Their numbers are increasing. They already have enough forces to overrun us, and I doubt they'll keep waiting. We'll all be dead within the week if we can't stop this in time!"

Hayden's normally cool voice once again flared up in aggravation. "I told you, it isn't my fault. We've lost a lot of probes during the program, and the fact that we have any in working order, let alone enough to directly monitor the mission is a miracle! You just remember your luck, Asgore - without me, you and your people would be dust already!"

The King was off put by Samuel's insolence. Nevertheless, he had enough decorum to recognize when he was in the wrong. Indeed, Hayden's help had proved invaluable. Even with the Doom Slayer's help, there was only so much they could do against a full on invasion. "Alright look," Resignation glazed his voice with every word. "I realize what help you've been. You just have to know what kind of weight we have on our shoulders here. Thousands, perhaps millions of lives are hanging in the balance. Not only are my subjects at stake, but the surface world as well. Forgive me if I snapped at you, but this isn't something we can take lightly."

"I understand perfectly. Just don't try and rush me. I've already told you about Argent D'Nur. You'll be able to get the Siphon as soon as everyone's recovered and ready to re-insert. I need some time to think... get everyone ready."

"Just how much resistance do you think we'll meet at Argent?"

The cyborg paused in his tracks for a moment, looking for the right words to say. "Let me put it this way... Argent was one of their most prized trophies. If the records we have are correct, he once guarded it until they absorbed it. You can imagine how sore their defeat must have been when I sent him back there to drain all Argent energy out of it. Now they've decided to house the Siphon there. You can probably imagine what it would mean to them to kill him on what used to be his home turf."

"I see..."

"I don't think it leaves much to the imagination as to how hard of a fight they'll put up."

"I understand... Is there anything you'll need help with in the meantime, Doctor?"

Hayden hesitated before returning to his pacing. "... I should be fine. I just need a moment or two to think."

"Right then... Doctor Alphys?"

"Yes, King Asgore?"

"Call my wife. I need to see her in person."  
________________________________

"Alright, are we sure that's everyone?" Toriel called out to the one of the Royal Guardsmen marshaling everyone out of Waterfall.

"Should be most of 'em... I think we'll have everyone once the guys over at Temmie village get over here."

"Good. Once we've gathered everyone here, we can make final preparations to evacuate Snowdin. Make sure we- Oh hold on a moment..." She flipped open her phone. "Oh, Alphys! How are you dear?" She initially answered her phone with a pleasant tone and a smile until Alphys relayed Asgore's message, at which point her browline immediately began to fall with annoyance. "Dear, tell him we're in the middle of evacuation. It can wai-... what do you mean it wasn't... Where?"

"Toriel, what's going on?" Frisk firmly held Papyrus' hand as she approached her. "Are they back?"

"Is Sans there?" Papyrus' voice was rife with concern and worry. "Did he make it back?"

"Hold on, you two... yeah... hmm... Alright then, tell him I'll be there.... Oh, by the way, did Sans make it back? ... Oh, wonderful!" Toriel covered the mic as she shifted her attention. "Yes Papyrus, he's safe!"

The tension in Papyrus' expression instantly melted away upon hearing those words. "Oh thank goodness! Can I talk to him?"

"Oh, we'll be headed over there, dear." She redirected her attention back on the phone. "Alright, just give us a little while to get everything settled here. Okay.... We'll be there soon. See you there, dear."  
____________________________

Hayden had retired to the "Conference Room" for some time alone. Everyone was more or less ready to re-enter; Undyne had gotten the sickness out of her system, and Sans was twiddling with some of the UAC supplies from the ammo crate with his telekinesis, anticipatory listlessness written on his face. Asgore was waiting patiently for Toriel and the others. The Doom Slayer continued to check his weapons, a strange mix of impatience and concern occupying his mind. For one, he was quite ready to jump back into the fray - he and the others had already spent about twenty minutes waiting on the others, to say nothing of whatever time it would take for the King to talk about whatever was on his mind with his estranged wife. Unable to think of anything else to do, he decided to go downstairs as well. He knew where Hayden was, and made sure in his mind to avoid the CEO. He didn't know why, but he figured it was the best place to stop and think - have a moment to himself.

In the meantime, Alphys and Undyne were glued to the computer screen on Alphys' desk.

Undyne's eye went wide as she viewed the specs on screen. "Whoa... that's a lot of power. Do you think the core could power it?"

"I'm not even sure five cores could do that... kinda making me wonder why he gave it to-..."

A deafening roar was heard just to their left, eliciting a fleeting shriek from one and a newly-materialized spear in the hand of the other as both turned to the source.

Alphys was relieved to see it was only on Mettaton's screen. "Oh my goodness... Mettaton, I thought you had a headset on!"

"Oh, sorry Darling, they just weren't doing my hair any favors." Mettaton shifted his eyes back to his screens. "They sure are getting antsy out there..."

Regaining her composure, Alphys turned her own attention back to her own dismay. "... The stakes are just too high. Hayden's got his eye on me all the time. I don't know why our new friend thinks I can do this..."

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Alphys felt her friend's arm wrapping around her shoulders. "To be honest, I think he believes in you as much as I do."

Alphys gave no resistance as she felt herself being pulled in closer to her friend. "Undyne...."

"You'll know what to do, Alphys. He trusts you..."

"but I,-"

"I trust you."

The nervous scientist meekly looked up to see her friend's face smiling, beaming with both affection and pride. Few sights made her feel so confident or loved. In that resurgence of trust in herself, she nodded her head. "... I know you do."

Undyne's smile beamed all the warmer.

"I'll figure something out."

"I know you will." After those words, she planted a kiss on her cheek as her arm left Alphys' shoulder. With a last look of affectionate confidence, she went back to another corner of the room to practice her moves, preparing for re-entry into Argent D'Nur.

With that, Alphys opened up a new dialogue on her screen.

**DT_EX/FUNCTION/PRIMARY POWER**

**ACTIVATE?**  
**_YES _NO**

Just as she opened the dialog, the door to the left opened up, letting in a somewhat exasperated looking Toriel, accompanied by Frisk and Papyrus. The focus and anxiety in Alphys' face immediately became surprise and relief as they let themselves in. "Oh! You guys are back!"

"SANS!"

"H-hey buddy!" Sans said, struggling in his brother's tight embrace as papyrus lifted him up off the ground and swung him about.

"I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Told you I'd be fine, d-didn't I?"

"Hey! What's going on, ya little punk?!" Undyne embraced Frisk, nearly toppling over as the young girl jumped into her kneeling frame. "Good to see you again too..." her ferocious smile once again lit up the room.

"Did you guys get it?"

The warrior woman's smile quickly faded away. "No... we didn't get it. The bad guys decided to move it out before we got to it and now it's somewhere else."

"Oh..."

"Hey, don't get all blubbery on me now!" Undyne briefly noogied the giggling child, putting her smile back on. "It's gonna be cake! We'll get it back..."

All the while, among the glad reunions and what felt like the first happy voices she'd heard since the start of this whole ordeal, Toriel approached her husband with sobriety and sternness in her face and her voice. She addressed him as she grew closer to the sullen figure slumped against the wall. "Dreemurr..."

His brow drooped a little lower over his glazed, unhappy eyes.

".... Asgore."

He looked up and began to stand as Toriel spoke.

"You wanted to talk-"

"Not here." Asgore's hand was raised up in a silencing motion.

"Then what-?"

"Downstairs..."  
___________________________

The Praetor's helmet sat on one of the counter tops, surrounded by numerous flowerpots. The yellow glow of their petals gave the darkened room somewhat of an eery, golden glow that rippled somewhat as the Doom Slayer combed his fingers through them. He began to wonder what these things felt like, trying to remember what he had felt so many eons before. Deliberately, reluctantly, he removed his right gauntlet before once again raking through the flower petals. The sensation was spine-chilling and alien, with nothing but the feeling of the interior of his gloves to compare it to. It frightened him, but fascinated him all at the same time. Still, as his fingers brushed against every soft, waxy petal, he felt increasingly uncomfortable, and within a few more seconds, he had put his gauntlet back on, the hissing of compressed air re-pressurizing within the armor resounding in the empty room.

He turned again to the wall to see another one of those screens. He had read a few of them so far, and the picture they painted was bleak and frankly tragic. He hadn't thought of grilling Alphys over it nor would he try. She already had enough on her plate with Hayden breathing down her neck.

Those tapes in the other room only added more questions. These people had far more to tell then they let on. Perhaps it was for the best.

 _Asriel_ , _Chara_. Both names bounced around in his head, and he found it hard to let them go. From what little he could gather, theirs was not a happy story. The Dreemurr's estrangement was no longer such a mystery, and that night before the oration began to take on a new meaning. There wasn't much more to learn about them here. He wasn't sure he even wanted to know more if the opportunity ever presented itself.

He turned his attention back to the monitors and the entries thereon.

The monsters' desperation for freedom was apparent in every entry he read. The King's decree, Alphys' experiments with DT, all of it painted a world devoid of hope. Now that world was once again sunk in despair. He interacted with the console display, scrolling down until he came to an entry titled "8."

" _I've chosen a candidate. I haven't told Asgore yet, because I want to surprise him with it... In the center of his garden, there's something special. The first golden flower, that grew before all the others. The flower from the outside world. It appeared just before the queen left. I wonder... What happens when something without a SOUL gains the will to live?_ "

He looked back at the flowers, then scrolled down again, reading whichever ones he hadn't already seen.

_"ENTRY NUMBER 10:"_

_"Experiments on the vessel are a failure. it doesn't seem to be any different from the control cases. Whatever. they're a hassle to work with anyway. The seeds just stick to you, and won't let go..."_

_"ENTRY NUMBER 18:"_

" _The flower's gone._ "

The Praetor's mind was caught in a whirlwind of inquiry and suspicion. There was far more to this place than he had imagined, and far, far more than what little he did know. He began to wonder where this "vessel" had gone, or what had become of it. He wondered how Alphys fixed the "amalgamate" problem. Surely it must be a thing of the past - all the beds he had seen in the compound were empty, and there wasn't a soul aside from Hayden in here with him, and the latter was on the other end of the compound, by the generator room.

Then he heard voices, and their volume was escalating.

He immediately donned his helmet and peeked around the corner to see the King and Queen in a heated argument

"Asgore, don't be so melodramatic!"

"Toriel-"

"You and everyone else got out of the last encounter just fine! I don't see a scratch on Sans or Undyne or you for that matter!"

"Toriel, there was no one there! That's what I've been trying to tell you. They took it and left before we got there."

"And your point is?"

"They've moved it to 'Argent D'Nur.' That used to be our guest's home realm before they took it. They want to kill him there, and I can assure you that they'll throw everything they've got at him and us."

"...."

"Toriel, I know you. I know when you use that tone of voice."

"Asgore, don't think that I'm-"

Indignance lay hold on Asgore's voice as he cut her off. "Toriel, you listen to me. I know you see me as pathetic, and you're right about that, but don't you ever think I'm hopelessly blind enough to think that you will ever love me again. I'm not trying to win your love back with a pity party, Toriel. I know that you'll never change your mind about me..." Trepidation began to contaminate the bitter, regal sternness he had so far maintained. "... and I know I will never change what I think of you. All I will ever ask from you is lead this people, Toriel. They don't need to know what happened to me. They just need to know they have their queen back."

"Oh, enough of the drama, Asgore! You got out of New Home just fine-"

Then, he snapped at her, now louder than ever. "What part of _'they'll throw everything they've got'_ do you not understand?! All of Hell has tried killing this man and they've only ever managed to contain him, and even that eventually failed! Toriel, I'm not just postulating that I will die in there. I'm CERTAIN I will die in there!"

As the Doom Slayer watched, he didn't see Toriel and Asgore.

"Asgore, look-"

In Toriel's place, he saw another woman, human this time...

"I WANT to die in there!"

In Asgore's place, a man...

"Don't you dare do that-!"

And they were speaking of very different things.

"You think i enjoyed any of it, huh?! What kind of soulless wretch do you take me for?! Do you have **_ANY_** idea how hard it was for me?! How desperately I wanted another way out?!"

The woman's face had been lost by time...

"I never said-!"

... but the man's was very, very familiar.

"I loved them as soon as I laid eyes on them! But the kingdom's eyes were on me! What **COULD** I have done?!"

Tears were welling up in Toriel's eyes. "Asgore, I never said-"

"That's what you told **_ALL_** of them! That's what they told me every time I met one of them! I _**KNOW**_ what I did was foolish, and I _**KNOW**_ that I trapped myself, but don't you ever **DARE** try to deny me this! You know I deserve it, and I know you know, because **THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE TOLD EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!"**

Before another angry, sorrowful word could escape either of their mouths, both of them felt a powerful grip on their necks, nearly strong enough to crush their collarbones. The grip tightened before they felt it shove them back from each other, letting go and nearly toppling both of them to the floor. They turned to see the Doom Slayer, breathing heavily as he took off his helmet to reveal a face that spoke both worry and scolding. Eyes wide, deep frown, brows pushed upward and together. His breath was audible and elevated. He stared daggers into them, not wavering until Asgore spoke up.

"...What?" His voice was quiet, tired and trembling from an outlet of countless years worth of pent up guilt, anger, and grief.

The Praetor only shook his head in response as he turned and walked back into the flower room. Their squabble had dug up more in his memory than he cared to recall, and he needed time to sort it all through.

There was silence for a while, interrupted only by an occasional sniffle or breath from either of the only two occupants left in the room. The King and Queen couldn't face each other full on, nor could they keep each other out of the corner of their eye. There seemed to be a silent understanding between them; they both knew what the Praetor was truly saying (though in truth, they only knew a fraction of the real picture).

Whispers from the other side of the room grabbed their attention as they slowly became audible, just enough that they knew who it was and what they were talking about.

"I-I don't know if this is a good idea..."

"I saw him go with them. He's stuck in there, they need to know!"

"Didn't you hear them? Didn't you just hear them yelling at each other?"

"This will help them focus on what they need to do most-"

"What they need to do is-"

"Alphys, Frisk..." Asgore's baritone voice boomed across the empty room. "You can come out."

"Is there something you two need to tell us?" The tears had not left Toriel's eyes, nor had the trembling left her voice.

Peeking back from the corner of the room, The Doom Slayer once again began to eavesdrop.

Alphys and Frisk came out of the other corner, slowly slinking into view with nervous expressions and reluctant footsteps. "L-Lord Asgore, I have something to tell you about the soul experiments..." Alphys barely managed to maintain eye contact with Asgore as she spoke.

"What is it dear?"

"I... I came up with an idea a while back. I wondered if one could implant Determination into something that didn't have a soul..."

"Yes?"

"A-and I..." She was already on the verge of breaking down. Calling those families about the amalgamates was hard enough, but telling someone who was dear to you about the fate of their child - a fate you have unwittingly crafted - was utterly impossible. Yet somehow, some way, Alphys found the breath she didn't have to come clean with the truth. "I tried using a flower..."

She and Frisk began to walk towards the Flower room, at which point the Marine hid himself in the small closet housed therein. Toriel and Asgore exchanged a quick look before silently following.

"And..." Alphys was so tempted to just run away. "I... I wanted to surprise you. I used the flower in the middle of your garden, but-"

Both knew exactly what she was talking about. Asgore could sense the guilt in her voice and tried to console her, all while suppressing his own mixed feelings. "Alphys, did you-"

"I used DT on it, but I didn't know that his essence would-"

Neither parent gave in to the anger that swelled in the back of their minds. They weren't petty enough to pin her for something she never meant to do. At the moment, all they cared about was where they could find him. Toriel kneeled down somewhat, trying to encourage her to look her in the eyes. "Alphys, listen to me. It's okay, you never meant it to happen. We just need to know where he is."

The Doom Slayer continued to listen. As he did, he remembered the tapes. He knew who they were talking about, and that realization twisted him inside with haunting familiarity.

"He followed you guys into the first portal." Frisk's voice stopped everyone cold. "He's still in there."

Silence. Nothing but terrible, deafening, blood chilling silence.

Then Toriel spoke up. 'Asgore... I think you know what you should do now."

"I do."

"I'll take care of Frisk and get the place evacuated..."

Asgore hesitated somewhat before speaking. "And I'll go look for him."

Suddenly, the Doom Slayer racked his combat shotgun, making everyone jump. The only gesture he gave before running back upstairs was an affirmative nod of the head.

Alphys then spoke up. "I think he's saying it's time to go."

Frisk followed. "Asgore?"

"Yes, Frisk?"

"He's not himself. He doesn't have his soul. I talked to him right before the barrier broke. He's the one who-"

"It's alright, I understand...." Asgore understood the picture, but it didn't mean he wanted to see all of it.

The fact worried Toriel greatly. "How are we going to bring him back then?"

"I don't know..." Alphys answer was deliberate, but steady. "Me and Frisk didn't think about that... but if we have him here, we have a much better chance of helping him."

"I'll be heading for the first portal immediately." Asgore said,, pulling out his trident. "Frisk, you stay safe with Toriel."

'I will."

"And Alphys?"

"Y-yes?"

"Thank you for letting us know.... you be good up there."


	10. To Power a Soul

Once more, everyone prepared to disembark. Once more, the sound of heartfelt goodbyes mingled with cartridges being loaded into battery. Once more diagnostics were run at the monitoring stations, Alphys and Hayden working side by side, checking probe feeds in the necropolis and beyond. Once more, everyone was preparing for what was their second, and hopefully last, trip into the bowels of Hell.

Hayden faced his console as he addressed everyone. "I have to inform you all that in no time during the program have we successfully sent probes into Argent. Any readings I get will be directly from your bracers, so we won't be able to give any proactive warnings should anything pop up that you're not prepared to face."

"Understood." Undyne acknowledged Hayden while simultaneously stretching and practicing stances with her spear. "Anything else we need to know?"

"Nothing I haven't told you all before." He turned back to his monitors.

"Alright... well that's it then." Asgore tightened his grip on his trident. "Mettaton, is our first Portal still open?"

"I've got eyes on it right now, your majesty."

"Good."

The news of Asriel's entrapment had been kept under wraps for the most part, but hints from Frisk went a long enough way to tell everyone that the matter needn't be discussed aloud. Eyes would dart to either member of the monarchy before averting themselves in respect.

"Those portals made by the crucible are only shut by the crucible." Asgore turned to see Hayden still facing his module, working on several systems diagnostics as he spoke. "Only our friend here can close them."

"Right then... I'm headed out."

"Asgore, wait."

He felt Toriel's hand grip him by the shoulder, turning him around. She couldn't bring herself to say anything. It felt as if every word she wanted to say was stuck like tacks in her throat. She wanted so terribly to say it to him, but within her there was too much conflict to let it happen. Asgore knew her. He knew how to read her face. He knew the slightly open mouth, the forlorn eyes, the inhale with no exhale, and the shifting eye contact. He wanted so terribly to embrace her, to hold her in his arms again. He put a hand under her cheek, but he too felt his words restrained by his own hesitation. Before any word could escape his tongue however, he felt his whole body being pulled in to meet hers. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him. They both remained silent for a time. No words were needed for either to understand.

Toriel broke the silence between the two, the rest of the compound's occupants having engaged each other in some way, borrowing them some time, albeit brief, to share a private moment. "Please... bring him back safely."

"I will."

His hands held onto hers. Part of her wanted to tell him to let go. Her heart and her mind both ignored it.

"I promise you." With those last words, he made his way for the door. "Is everyone ready?"

Sans bid Papyrus one more goodbye before addressing the King. "Ready when you are."

Undyne's spear was planted in the ground, her shoulders squared, and her expression resolute. Her ferocious attitude shone through in her wild, almost feral voice, now lowered to near growling. "Been ready."

The Doom Slayer met the King's eyes with another nod, this time the face behind the visor showing a genuine approval. None of the scolding scowls of the past hour were to be seen. In a sense, he was actually quite proud.

"Right then.... let's move."  
_________________________

The same red glow, the same hellish roars, the same, foul air.

Once more the shore party was in New Home, standing around the first portal the Praetor had made. Asgore stood close by it, everyone else standing a ways behind him. There was some tension in the air, a sort of unease that gripped just about everyone in some way. This could very well be the last they ever see of each other. Yes, they had been faked out the first time, but now it was almost certain that undue peril awaited them all. All goodbyes had already been said. All farewells had been given. To say anything more would either intrude or regurgitate. Thus no one said a word as Asgore looked back, nodded, took a deep breath and jumped into the portal.

With that, all eyes focused on the Doom Slayer. Once again, he carefully took his stance and prepared to open another fissure. Unlike Hayden and the UAC, who relied on coordinates and computers to get into hell, all he needed was his mind. The Crucible knew him, and it knew every border and boundary in Hell, down to the last crag and pebble. The connection between the two opened a map in his mind, and at the very heart lie his destination, his old home, the desecrated remains of Argent D'Nur. With the image of its polluted, once holy halls in mind, he took the first swing, then a footstep, then the second swing. He hadn't realized his eyes had been closed, and when he opened them, there it was, in all its ruined glory. The long corridors and palisades, the towers and runes, all of it was there, now completely, blasphemously destroyed by its current occupants.

Everyone gathered around to see it, The Doom slayer still pausing to drink it all in, letting his righteous fury build up within him.

"Wow..." Undyne's eye was a saucer, taking in the sight of something that seemed to have been so majestic at one time, but now lay in ruinous shambles before her. "Doomguy, wasn't this your home at one point?"

Of course, there was no audible reply. His answer was subtle enough that if they hadn't known him at all, they wouldn't have caught his fingers wringing around the furniture of his weapon. It seemed as if the walnut on the shotgun's stock would burst into splinters if he wrung any tighter.

"... I see."

"Well, no time to waste then." Sans' voice did not echo the awful dread that lingered within him. "We hopping in or-"

Before he could finish, the Marine took a running start, jumping in with all the fervor of a feral beast hunting its prey.

The other two exchanged looks for a second before taking their own running start, plunging themselves into the very heart of Argent D'Nur.  
____________________________

Alphys had a few of Hayden's panels extended over her workspace. "Alright... I have eyes on you, Asgore."

"Wonderful dear, wonderful. Now, just keep me posted if you see anything"

"You got it, sir!" Bidding her friend and superior farewell, she turned her attention to Hayden, just out of the corner of her eye. He seemed quite occupied with his work, monitoring the others on their mission from the feeds on their bracers.

A familiar voice popped up from his side. "Shore party to base, either of you hear me?"

Undyne's voice was music to her ears. She so terribly wanted to respond, but Hayden had already monopolized all communications to the Argent party. He noticed Alphys looking longingly at the comms receiver console and brusquely shooed her off. "Focus on your own work... yes, we read you, shore party. Bracers reading full vitals. I assume everyone made the trip all right?"

"Yeah, all peachy keen here..." Sans' somewhat sarcastic reply belied his feelings upon seeing the remains of this place. Piles of what looked like the bones of Argent's former inhabitants littered the ground. Safe as they were now, it sure didn't feel like it would stay that way for long. "We'll uh... we'll keep you posted once things start shakin' up, I guess."

"....right." Hayden's voice dripped with exasperation and annoyance. He pulled down several of his panels, engrossing himself in his work, checking up on the multiple signals that the UAC's equipment had tracked down. True there were no probes in Argent, but there were many more set up around hell that tracked the energy signal found therein, which radiated throughout all Hell. they could only pick up so much now that the well was exhausted, but the Siphon gave off just enough energy for the detection equipment to register.

Seeing that Hayden was sufficiently preoccupied, Alphys returned her attention to her work, watching Asgore trudge through the bowels of the grey, lifeless necropolis. Just like before, it seemed he was only meeting minimal resistance. it surprised her when he crossed paths with a single Hell knight, only to feel relief as he quickly dispatched the beast. Oddly enough, that was more or less the hardest one he had fought yet. Still now, the necropolis was only scarcely populated with a few imps and lost souls.

"Still nothing, Lord Asgore..."

"I know..." his voice crackled somewhat over the connection. "It's just like our first try..."

A short pause ensued that neither closed comms or said goodbye. Alphys had something to say, but it clung to the edge of her throat. Asgore could sense this, and left the line open, waiting for her to let it out.

"And uh, Asgore?"

"Yes?"

"I.... I-I really need to let you know how much I regre-"

The King could already sense the scientist's rue. With all the kindness of a caring parent, he consoled her. "Alphys, Alphys... it's alright. You never meant for this to happen. Right now, you're doing your best to make it right. That what matters now, Alphys."

"but I-"

"Alphys, listen to me, dear. I'm glad you and Frisk had the wherewithal to tell me. It's behind you now. You have to learn to move on, dear. Then is then, now is now, and right now, we're working to fix this. We cannot undo the past, so there's no point trying to wallow in it, but we always have a future, and that is something we can fix right now. That's what 'now' is for, Alphys. The past is in the past, but we always have right now to make things better. Do you understand?"

"I think so..."

Asgore smiled just a bit. "I know so."

"I promise, I'll do my best to help."

"I'm proud of you, Alphys. Always remember that."

"I will."

"I'll see you in a few, dear." With that, comms closed once more.

Alphys then double checked to see that Hayden was still occupied. Seeing that he was, she turned back to her computer screen, whispering to herself.

"i won't let you down..."

She quietly slid VEGA's backup drive into a specialized receptacle hidden under the mess on her desk. it wasn't something she could plug it into: such a port wasn't to be found in this entire dimension. She closed a door onto it, sealing the receptacle shut before checking up on the dialogue on her screen.

**DT_EX/FUNCTION/RECEPTACLE**

**RUN?**

**_YES _NO**

She clicked "YES."

Her old computer strained somewhat, the cooling fans making considerable noise. She desperately hoped it wouldn't attract Hayden's attention...

"Your device seems to be going through some duress, Doctor Alphys."

"i-It is, actually..."

"Just what are you running on it?" he sauntered over to her, standing behind her.

Her eye darted to and fro, catching Mettaton, looking on in concern, unsure if he should intervene, and if so, how he should do it.

Her voice was timid and fretful. "Oh, just one of my favorite Animes..."

"Your what now-"

On the screen was perhaps one of the most asinine things he had ever seen. A young girl with a cat's ears and mouth chanted something in Japanese on the screen, with accompanying characters. The colors thereon were drenched in sickening pinks and purples and baby blues, and with every passing second, Hayden could practically feel his brain cells eroding.

".... you really need to focus on your work, Doctor Alphys." With that, he went back to his work station.

Alphys tried to withhold her relieved breath before minimizing her pirated anime file and maximizing the DT extractor dialogue. Apparently it had finished running diagnostics. What she then saw on the screen shocked her. Once again she had to contain herself so as to not give herself away to her suspicious partner.

**DT_EX/FUNCTION/RECEPTACLE/FUNCTION_COMPLETE**

**RESULT**

**DT_SIGNATURE: POSITIVE**  
**DT_CONCENTRATION: H-LEVEL**  
**SOUL_POWER: H-LEVEL**  
**POSSIBLE_EXTRACTIONS: INFINITE**

She couldn't believe her eyes. Whatever was in this thing was a living soul, and one with human determination and power at that. it was so strange. Mettaton was a soul possessing a machine, but this thing, VEGA, was a machine possessing s soul. She didn't know how such a thing could be possible. Thoughts of all kinds raced in her head, some regretting that she couldn't find such a solution when dealing with the first DT experiments, and others wondering how she could "wake him up." Mettaton's conundrum was easy. A soul acted as the machine's consciousness while a power source, a battery, actually supplied power to the machine, like food gives energy to a living thing. Mettaton was very much alive, but he wasn't born the way he was. VEGA was built from the ground up as a machine, as far as the UAC databases said. His soul, his essence, all artificial, but all alive and feeling, was in that hard drive. As to how she could bring him to life, she did not know, The archives said it took 2.4 terawatts to power him. The core couldn't produce that much power if its output was quadrupled. A body like Mettaton's was out of the question.

Or was it?

VEGA apparently had human levels of DT. Monsters don't have that level of course, but as she recalled from Mettaton's creation, not even a monster soul could simply possess a machine and make it all work. Sure, souls can possess inanimate objects, but not with all the complex functions that Mettaton had. What one needed to conjoin a soul and a machine was certain level of DT, among other complex procedures.

Somewhere in the bowels of the compound, she had something in store that with just a little boost in its already latent DT levels, could house this mysterious soul, and allow it possession.There was the rub. The difference between this program running a machine and possessing it like a body. 

She just needed a way to get it there.

"Hey Mettaton!"

"Yes, darling?"

"Is anything happening out there?"

"No, they've all gone quiet. Call me crazy, but they seem a bit bored. They're just sitting there, really. If I didn't know any better I'd think they'd be asleep."

Hayden interjected, having eavesdropped on them. "In all our studies, we've rarely observed demons asleep. We should count ourselves lucky if they ever enter a state of dormancy."

"Yeah..." concealing her nervousness was hard, especially now that Hayden now had his attention on her. "So, uh, yeah, Mettaton, could you come over here real quick?"

As the automaton got up from his seat, Alphys discreetly wrapped the hard drive in a crumpled piece of paper, taking an opportunity while Hayden looked away to check another Argent reading. She scribbled a note on it before putting it in her hand and wrapping her arm around Mettaton. "Check this out... see how he hasn't encountered any of the big ones yet?"

Everything she said was a simple ruse, but she hoped it would work as she felt a small compartment in Mettaton's back open, letting her slide the hard drive inside. She knew that he knew what she was really playing at.

"And like Dr Hayden said, the demons almost never sleep. The UAC files mentioned a possibility of a Hive Mind shared between them... Dr Hayden, what do you think? Maybe the Hive mind is just shutting down unneeded forces to concentrate on Argent?"

"Hmm... I wouldn't rule it out." his optic still focused on his work, and his voice sounded a bit disconnected, uninvolved and uninterested in Alphys' postulation.

"Well in that case, I think we should make some extra preparations just in case they suddenly wake up. Mettaton, could you head downstairs to the power main, check if we're still alright down there?"

Mettaton knew exactly what she was going for now. "Sure thing. be right back, darling."

Alphys looked on as he went towards the elevator. her heart began to race as she noticed Hayden eyeing him up too, all the way to the sound of the elevator doors closing, at which point he slowly turned towards her, freezing her blood with his azure stare before tuning back to his work.

Then, a familiar voice called out over comms. "Alphys, I've looked all over this godforsaken place and I can't find him... Do you see anything?"

"No sir I do-"

But as soon as those words left her lips, there he was. Right on the screen, staring blankly up at the darkened skies. He was surrounded by nothing, maybe a few rocks and rotted roots. In the background, the skull of the titan could be seen. A terrible cosmos glowed eerily in the umbral night.

"What is it, Alphys?"

"Sir... I see him."


	11. Upping the Ante

"Frisk... it's best if you just forget about me okay?"

Those words stung to hear. There wasn't anything Frisk wanted less.

"Just go be with the people who love you."

The young girl could not turn away from the sad little boy's tearful face. Without a word, she immediately drew close to him, pausing but for just a second before embracing him.

The boy gasped just a bit, shocked and surprised both by the sudden embrace and Frisk's capacity to forgive and love others, including those who he thought deserved neither love nor forgiveness (himself included in his own mind). Tears welled up anew in his eyes. How could this be? After all he'd done, after all that had happened, she was still willing to forgive him. She still wanted to comfort him. She saw the pain in his eyes, and wanted to see it no more. He felt he deserved it. He felt that after all the pain his actions had caused, (regardless of the fact that it was in effect "the other guy"), the smart on him did not deserve healing. Still though, there she was, her arms wrapping so tightly, yet so gently around him. Soon enough, he was returning the gesture, as much as he felt he couldn't or shouldn't. The fact that someone so cared about him almost sent him once more into a deluge of tears.

They held each other for a while, Asriel sobbing quietly into Frisk's shoulder as the girl's hand gently ran over his back.

"ha... ha....." The boy's voice struggled to get out between his sharp sobs. "I don't want to let go..." And truly he didn't. What would he give for this to last forever, to feel love again, to feel someone else's embrace again, to have a soul (or at least for now, the power of one)

Every time Frisk began to ease her grasp, Asriel tightened his, and every time Asriel began to let go, Frisk would just clasp him tighter. Eventually, they somehow managed to let go of each other, slowly, deliberately, drawing it out, knowing that just as well as it was their first embrace, it would also be their last. That realization hit the little prince especially hard, as he had known such loving embraces before, with friends and family who he knew were just around the corner, but were forever out of his reach. Frisk too knew this, and as contact was severed completely, she too wanted to weep.

Before she could however, he spoke up again. "Frisk... you're... you're gonna do a great job, okay?"

No audible response from the girl. Instead, a silent nod coupled with a forlorn, but triumphant expression.

"Everyone will be there for you, okay?" He then turned around, not wanting to see the look on her face when he uttered his farewell. "Well, my time's running out... goodbye."

With that, he quietly walked away, but not before one last wish,

"By the way, Frisk... Take care of mom and dad for me, okay?"

"...I will."

And then he was gone.

Then suddenly, another familiar voice  
_____________________________

"Frisk! Frisk, wake up!"

Frisk's eyes shot open upon hearing her adoptive mother's voice calling out so urgently.

"Come along, dear, we're about ready to leave."

Frisk looked all around at the busied inhabitants of Snowdin, all of them carrying personal effects on their shoulders, on their backs, and when available, on a sled or buggy. Conversation could be heard all around as everyone once more spoke of freedom and surface life. Hope seemed to have rekindled itself somewhat (though not completely) in everyone, despite the frightening circumstances, but now, the hellish threat was locked away behind a manifold of laser defenses, and the exit from the ruins, previously unbeknownst by anyone save for Toriel, now served as the glad substitute for the east gate in the palace.

Frisk fought a smile through her yawning and drowsiness, feeling once more at peace about the underground at large, though still somewhat perturbed by what had or would become of her friends who now were working to resolve the crisis now locked up behind blue and red light.

She also thought of _him._

The memory of his face would follow her forever. His tragic story instilled in her a sense of duty that could not be broken by any force in hell or on earth. She knew she had put Alphys at risk. She knew that Toriel and Asgore were not going to like the news, and as she looked up at Toriel's forlorn face, she knew the possibility of saving him had come at a price. Regret blew across her mind like a cold breeze, but the chill was quickly thawed by her warm resolve to find a way. What way that would be, she wasn't sure. Unlike Alphys, she did not know much about the nature of a soul, let alone how to restore one. Still though, his words weighed on her like bricks, laboring her soul with grieved determination to save him. heaven knew how, but it mattered not. She was too determined to leave it alone.

"Alright everyone!" Toriel's voice carried a lot more power than either Frisk or papyrus knew or expected, and both jumped a bit at hearing her. "As soon as everyone's taken what they can and we've all gathered up, we'll be heading into the ruins, and from there, the Surface!"

Cheering and whooping resounded against the chasm walls.

The smile having returned to his face in full, papyrus couldn't help but be jubilant. "Wow, it's really happening this time... Can you believe it Frisk? I though we were all goners for a while!"

"I know right?" Discontentment and unease were not easy things for a child to hide, It was easy for Papyrus to innocently pick up on them.

"Frisk, what's wrong? There something you want to talk about?"

"Hmm? No I'll be fine." Inadvertently providing cover for her less-than-honest admission was Toriel, continuing her instruction after the applause had calmed down somewhat.

"Now remember everyone, don't try to bring all your effects at once! The stairwell that our kind first climbed down upon our interment here is somewhat narrow, and it will take some time to clear it of debris and climb to the top. Some of the guard will stay here so that your belongings will be protected until you come again to retrieve them. Now, everybody come along, we haven't a moment to lose!"

The chatter and bustling activity once again sprang to life, mingled with some more applause, and as Frisk walked alongside Toriel, hand clasped firmly in the matriarch's gentle hand, her thoughts did not deviate one bit from her initial objective.

"He'll get to see this too...."  
________________________________

"NGAAAAAHHHHH!!"

Undyne's battle cry tore through the air with all the demoniac yells already filling it. Running from here to there, an imp underfoot, Step on its head. keep moving. Hell knight on that bridge, jumping down. Throw a spear. Direct hit, right in the throat. Thing lands with the spear hitting the ground, impaling it further on its own weight. No, don't get distracted. Keep moving. Keep killing. Revenant above you. Rocket fire incoming. Run. Jump. Grab the ledge. Jump up on him, punch his mobility pack. Jump off, let him die and move on to the next demon. Turn around and run. Mancubus right there. Doom Slayer's on it. Chainsaw ripping its gut. Move on. Keep going.

Thoughts were brief in the Warrior woman's head, just as the Praetor trained her. There was no time to stall or stop. There was too many of them.

Sans too felt the flurry of combat like never before. Unlike Undyne and the Marine, he had no need (or capacity) for constant running. His telekinesis and bone walls did him good enough, though even those defenses found themselves strained by the constant assault of demonic forces. Summoners threw scarlet waves of raw hell Energy at him only to have their projectiles (barely) absorbed by his barricades. In return, their newly summoned minions, a hodgepodge of imps and Knights, were thrown violently at them, bones breaking with the sheer force of impact. The glow of his blue eye shone ominously against the deepening red of the hellish air.

For the Doom Slayer, this almost felt easy. Yes, they certainly were putting up a huge fight, but with Sans' and Undyne's assistance, this was no worse than his previous foray into Argent D'Nur. At least fifty of them were swarming through the battlefield, torn with rocky crags and overshadowed by a once great Argent temple, out of which flew more of the enemy. He glanced every now and then to see his compatriots fighting, and deep inside, the fear he felt on their behalf was overshadowed a bit by genuine pride. Their courage sounded out in every blow they dealt to the horde's mindless minions. Half gone. Keep going. Don't stop until they're all dead.

A pinky reared up to charge at Sans' stationary position. Undyne took quick notice after dispatching another hell razer. "SANS, LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!"

The small, but surprisingly nimble skeleton lowered his barricade, letting the demon get a clear shot before effortlessly sidestepping it, letting ti crash into the wall before impaling it from behind with several jagged bones. From there he gracefully jumped from place to place, avoiding the horde's projectiles as he hopped and flipped his way to a new strong-point.

Undyne continued her own rampage, letting her adrenaline take over as two Barons thundered towards her. Spear in hand she charged, but not directly at them, Sans landed nearby, almost bumping into her while the demonic pair swiped at both of them, the two monsters practically sliding past them between their legs. A bone from Sans and a spear form Undyne launched in tandem to impale the two beasts together. In pain, but very much alive, they both tried casting fireballs at their assailants before the Doom Slayer's Gauss bolt ran them both through the head, blowing their craniums out in a shower of messy gore.

Then, the Doom Slayer jumped right in between his two companions, facing either and nodding to both. As he nodded, the last thirty or so of the horde encircled them. now they knew what his nod meant. They gathered back to back, and before the demons came into close range, he handed Sans his plasma rifle and Undyne his LMG. they all stood together on the bridge, waiting for those eternal two seconds before the demons began to climb up the sides.

No fanfare, no boasting roars or battle cries. Just immediate fire and carnage. Demon after demon crawled its way to them, only to be cut down by their tenacious enemy's unending waves of fire. They all stood back to back, firing incessantly. In one hand, Undyne held the monstrous belt fed gun, shooting wildly from the hip as her other arm busied itself with a more precise spear, throwing it into the mouth of an awaiting cacodemon that had tried to take aim at the Doom Slayer. San's telekinesis waved the plasma rifle in the air, swinging it to and fro as it fired. Those enticed by the deadly decoy were gunned down by the Slayer's chaingun. He felt the heat of its triad barrels creeping along the weapon's furniture up into his fingers as he fired, taking out whatever took aim at him of his allies. A baron tried leaping at him only to smack itself face first into a bony wall flung up by sans, blue spears shooting out of the ground impaling and killing it as it fell. Imp fireballs and lost souls were similarly blocked, while their relatively frail bodies were torn asunder by bill, bone, and bullet.

Then it was over, at least for a moment. The skull gate at the other end of the room opened, just as before.

As they all caught their breath, the Doom Slayer found it somewhat interesting that they not only chose Argent D'Nur to do battle with him, but the very same place that was host to the captive wraiths and the Well. The same gates leading to the Wraith pedestals were yet open, green runes still glowing.

Soon enough, the others caught him spacing off. Sans was first to question it. "You see something, man?"

He turned towards the skeleton and then back at the old pedestal, pointing towards the horned decorations that hung over the wraith's corpse before jumping down and jogging thereto, his companions exchanging looks and following suit.

Making it to the top of the dilapidated stone staircase, they joined the Doom Slayer atop the temple. They were somewhat perturbed by the seemingly demonic corpse that the Praetor was staring so steadfastly at.

'What IS that thing?" Undyne's lip was curled into a disturbed snarl as she looked upon the disemboweled eyeless beast

The Doom Slayer reached for his dossier device, fumbling around in his pouches only to remember that he had given it to Alphys. Mildly irritated, he gestured to his company that the information was not on hand, shrugging his shoulders and pointing to his empty pouches.

"Ah, I see." Sans took a deep breath, rocking on his heels a little. "So, yeah, nice scenery and all but I think we-"

"Whoa..." Undyne's eye went wide and her mouth agape in awe.

"What the..."

The Doom Slayer noticed the green glow emanating from behind him. He turned around to see yet another familiar sight.

It was the night sentinels.

He stepped back a few paces giving them some room. Nine of them stood around the old pedestal, all looking directly at the Praetor and his posse before pointing in unison towards the skull gate. Undyne and Sans both wore slight, open mouth smiles, awestruck by their ghostly appearance and powerful presence. The Doom Slayer nodded to them, and before they left, each of them put a fist to their chest in unison, saluting their old chief. As he returned the gesture, his friends, now almost gleeful for sake of awe, also pounded their chests in salutation. Then, dropping their closed fist salutes, the sentinels vanished.

With that, he looked at his new company, nodded, and ventured forth.

Time was wasting.  
____________________________

The many lockers that lay flush on the walls of the main power room befuddled Mettaton. He knew what he was here for and what Alphys had assigned him to do, but he could waste hours searching among all these lockers. One after another, he closed each locker door, coming up empty handed. Where was it? He had seen Alphys working on it before, and in his anticipatory excitement, he had not taken note of where she had put it. He was looking for a needle in a haystack, and his impatience was beginning to catch up with him. In his irritation, he decided to text Alphys. He knew however, that if he were to be too overt, it could end up very poorly for both him and his maker. All it took was the Cyborg asking to see her phone and it would be over. He needed to be discreet.

Deciding on what he would say, he opened his phone.

“need help w/power main.”

Alphys replied with some apprehension. “like wht.”

“Combination number....”

Samuel's voice would have made her jump if her once-taut nerves hadn't been stretched into slackening already. “Does he need help?” He had noticed the vibration of her phone

“Hmm? Oh, no, There's just an old padlock on the power main and he doesn't remember the combination.”

“Ahh...” Hayden's voice once more waxed bored and uninvolved.

She then turned her attention to her monitors, keeping close watch over Asgore and the Flower. The former was still engaged in climbing the treacherous ledges and architecture, trying to climb atop a dilapidated structure atop which sat the latter.. There he sat still, staring into the eternal night sky. He faced away from the camera, and so any emotion would be hard to detect, but the amount of time in which he stayed mostly stationary was telling enough. Only a twitch of one of his leaves here and there, and that was the fullest extent to which he ever moved. Feeling the phone in her pocket vibrate once more, she saw it was Mettaton and answered.

“PL320W”

Finding the compartment with that label was no problem. He had seen the letter “PL” written on at least a dozen of these, all on the bottom tier of three that lined each wall. Most were filled with supplies and tools, but he knew he'd find no such thing in this unit. He opened it, finding a table inside. It as wheeled like a cart and was somewhat reminiscent of an operator's table. Certain power tools were attached fast to the sides of the table, including a drill press, blowtorch, and an arc welder (the welding amp hanging underneath the table surface). All the cords on these tools connected to a main hub under the table, from which was derived a single, large cord that served as a power strip for the whole table. He pulled it out, looking at what lie thereon with greedy eyes and spastic enthusiasm.

Whether it was the vanity within him, or his admiration for all things glamorous, Mettaton found himself quite distracted by what he saw. Betwixt the many tools that lay in dishes and sat in bolted positions around the table was a humanoid figure, painted mostly black, with some parts remaining unpainted', gleaming silver in the dim light of the lab. A large gun sat affixed to its right arm. Hair similar to Mettaton's adorned it's head. Its chest was open, and the soul capsule receptacle port was exposed.

Now that he had located the prize, all that remained was asking Alphys what to do with it.

“OK, fusebox open, now what.”

The reply surprised and confused him “Find fuse.”

“wht is fuze??”

Alphys could feel Hayden's single digital eye running over her. As she typed, she prayed he wouldn't catch on or ask questions.

“Go to DT room.”

With that last text, Mettaton was almost certain as to what she was up to. He reached the DT extractor room and begun to search a certain cabinet found near the extractor itself. No matter how many times he saw it, the bird skull-like machine still sent a ghastly shiver down his synthetic spine. If his suspicions where right as to what Alphys was doing, he would end up having to use it. Within seconds, he found what he was looking for: a clear capsule lidded at top and bottom with a metal cap adorned with a small button in the center.

Mettaton broke out his phone again. “Found fuse. What now.”

“fill it up.”

“with nothing inside??”

“With HDD inside.”

That last text made Mettaton's head spin. What would putting some old hard drive in the capsule do? He knew what the DT extractor did and how the capsules worked. The process through which he inherited his current body directly involved the machine and a capsule which still lay in his core. What he now held in his hands was no monster soul. It was a capsule in his left and a black hunk of metal and polymer in his right. He placed the drive inside the vessel, closing the lid tightly in preparation for the next step. This was perhaps the most perilous part of it all, as this large machine, with all its metal, wires, tubes, and motors, would most certainly get Hayden's attention. Mettaton's grip on the container tightened somewhat as he looked at the activation panel on the wall. He normally wasn't one to hesitate or worry, but who knew what that Cyborg would do if he found out what was happening. One was only as quick as the elevator if they were to intercept the CEO from harming Alphys. It felt like it was too big a risk.

Then he felt the phone vibrate again.

“u have it ready?”

He knew he didn't have to text her to answer.

Without hesitating any longer approached the control panel, wiping the dust off and pressing the proper commands

**POWER:**

**/INITIATE?**

**EXECUTE.**

Alphys' eyes were still fixed on Asgore and his dangerous climb when the DT Extractor dialogue opened itself on her screen.

**DT_EX/POWER/MAIN_EXTRACTOR/STAGE_1/PERMISSION**

**DT_EX_LOWER_COMMAND**

**GRANT?**

**_YES _NO**

Almost without reading the script, she clicked “yes.”

The automaton winced as he heard the creaky old machine brought to life on Alphy's command. The motors and servos that moved it along its rails began to start up. The tubes gargled with various fluids. The console emitted many loud noises indicating readiness in some areas and needed maintenance in others. The only two status screens he needed to see were labeled **“AVAILABLE_DT** ” and “ **DT_EX_FUNCTIONALITY.** ”

Upstairs, the sound of the machine reached Hayden and Alphys' ears.

“Sounds like he's busy down there...” Hayden's voice oozed with boredom and disinterest.

“He certainly is, Doctor.” Alphys felt somewhat gladdened, seeing Hayden's lack of interest in her affairs. With that came an opportunity to drive him further away, make it harder for him to interfere with her acquisition of knowledge. “You know, we can re-reoute every single circuit in the underground from here if we-”

“Alphys...”

“Yeah?”

“Please do me a favor and get back to your own work.”

Never had she felt so glad to be pushed aside.

Downstairs, Mettaton made ready the capsule, having directed one of the tubes from the machine down to the capsule, which now sat on a pedestal amid the empty space under the machine. A short syringe like tool tapped into the button on the cap of the vessel, and a loud hissing soon filled the dank laboratory air as the airtight seal between machine and capsule tightened. Then, a white vapor-like gas filled the capsule. He knew what was supposed to happen next. He knew what that gas was and what it was distilled from. He eagerly awaited the result. He knew what was “supposed” to happen. But would it happen? Could it happen? Could this work?

The gas stopped flowing, signifying that the capsule was full. The opaque white of the DT vapor fogged the vessel.

For a few moments, nothing.

Then, Mettaton looked on in disbelief at the capsule.

Light was penetrating the murky gas, which distilled until the light source was completely revealed. It was a heart, glowing a deep, valiant blue

It was surrounding the drive, which now neatly floated in the center of the vessel

The automaton grabbed it and ran towards the power main. He already knew what to do

Powering on the tools on the table, he wasted no time prepping the NEO chassis for it's new fitting. Only a few bolts kept the chassis case from opening. Once he had taken it off, all he needed to do was insert the capsule into the receptacle. Sure enough, upon removal of the last bolt, there it was: an empty cylindrical space with two prongs at each end for insertion of the vessel. Mettaton eyed it over as he prepared it for installation. The outlines of the drive were very well blurred by the blue heart that now encapsulated it. It was more of a splotch of black than a defined shape. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. What was in this thing? How did it form this? These and many more questions buzzed around in his head before he snapped out of his mystified state. He inserted it into the chassis, making sure the prongs had bitten into the caps.

Not even a second after he had installed it, he felt his phone vibrate. Alphys did too. Every computer downstairs seemed to be making a racket, notifications popping up o each and every one of them, from the DT extractor console, to Alphys' computer, at which point, she almost panicked before a relieved and amazed smile spread across her face as she read the message the notification bore.

The words were simple, but they struck both fear and awe into the two that read them

 

**I AM VEGA.**

 


	12. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Asgore's strength had begun to waver somewhat, despite having made it to the top of the mount. He had paused a moment to catch his breath, kneeling down, sweat dripping down from his brow. Part of him was not ready to look up. He knew what he was going to see, and who it really was, but it didn't change the fact that the years had taken a toll on his memories of the boy. All these years he had been gone. All these years, he lay in the earth beneath the garden as dust. All these years, his absence had been felt and eventually accustomed to. Asgore wasn't sure if he was ready to see him again, especially in his current state. He wasn't going to be himself. There would be no cries of 'Father, Father!” There would be no happy reunion. There would be no sweet embrace between father and long lost son. That perhaps was what hurt the most.

It took a minute for the King to compose himself before getting up

That's when he saw him, facing up still into the dreary sky.

Never had his feelings been so mixed, so conflicted. At once he wanted to run up and embrace him, yet he knew that such a venture would possibly be dangerous, even deadly. Like the others, he did not remember much from the barrier break event, but he did remember the flower, and what monstrous power lay latent in it. He remembered being bound with the others before all went white. To some extent he remembered it trying to kill Frisk, as much as as he preferred to leave that memory untouched. In any case, this thing – the remains of his son, was not going to come easy. He pulled out the capsule from under his cloak. Closing his eyes for a moment before advancing.

“Don't even think about it old man.”

He stopped dead in his tracks before opening his eyes. The sound of his voice, which hadn't fallen upon his ears in so long, elicited a grievous mix of restrained parental love and unfathomable dread within him.

The flower had not moved nor turned to face him.

Asgore braced himself internally for any reply the flower gave as he spoke. “You still know who I am...”

“I don't care.”

“And you're aware that I know who you are-”

“Shut up.”

“Listen, I kno-”

“You don't know who I am, old man.”

“Asriel-”

“ **SHUT UP**!!” The flower then immediately faced the king, fangs bared, eyes blackened, thorned vines sprouting out of the ground. “Just shut up... don't come near me!”

“Asriel, you have to-”

“ **STOP USING THAT NAME!** ” His voice was no longer his. The familiar, gentle volume had been replaced with a demoniac screeching, as if multiple screams from Hell itself were being expressed at once amid the backdrop of what was once Asriel's voice.. The sound make Asgore recoil in horror.

Suddenly, almost without explanation, the King felt resolve burn within him, and the trembling, fear, and dread left as determination took their place, blazing in his now booming voice. “You know what your name is.”

“ **I SAID SHUT UP!** ” The flower then began to whip his spiked vines around, lashing out at the King.

Asgore was prepared. His fire magic made short work of the vines as they flailed around him, burning to cinders before his eyes. The sight only infuriated the Flower, who launched a series of small, white, burning projectiles at the king. Volley after volley ran into wall after wall of Asgore's fire. More vines erupted from the ground, only to be impaled by a red trident. With the sheer volume of pellets being thrown by the flower, one or two hit Asgore. They burned him badly, but his mind was far more determined to see this through to let some relatively minor pain get in his way. This was not his son, at least not now. The little boy who he'd raised for those joyous, painfully short twelve years was trapped inside that soulless, demonic flower. It was him, yet it wasn't him. The same person, but incomplete. Even with this knowledge, the dreadful situation still infused a feeling of deep sorrow, battling constantly with his steel resolve to see this through. It wasn't the first time emotion had clashed with determination, and this time, it was for what Asgore knew to be a much more worthwhile cause. That knowledge kept him steady through the whip of each vine and the sting of each pellet. Step by step, he advanced, quickly addressing what was once his son through the fiery maelstrom of their struggle.

“You're coming with me!”

“I'm not going **ANYWHERE!** ” The loathsome creature screeched all the louder. Asgore wasn't sure if it was a mirage caused by the heat of his flame, or if it was in fact tears rolling down the creatures' face. “I belong here....”

“No, you don-”

“ **I BELONG HERE!!** ”

The king's heart, already pained by the reality of all this, felt yet another load of sorrowful stone weigh upon it.

The flower had practically stopped fighting. “I belong here... I belong here...” The tears were indeed real, and they hadn't stopped. He didn't know what was causing it. He had no love in him, but he did have sorrow and anger, and those two combined with resignation cemented him in place. He couldn't feel remorse, but he could feel desperation and pain, and this place, which was so synonymous, so rife with those wretched feelings, was in his mind, the perfect place for him. That was enough to sap the vigor from his tendrils, and the anger from his voice. This is where he belonged.

Asgore, with capsule in hand, knew otherwise.

He then closed it over the Flower.

________________________

In that same dimension, somewhere closer to the heart of the realm, a great clamor shook the air.

A mancubus plodded forward, raising one arm after another to fire its flaming mucous at some distant target. A Gauss bolt flew through its head, killing it instantly before its gaseous entrails exploded in a gruesome shower of rancid gore.

Several imps clambered up the crooked stone pillars set about the chamber while others raced past them to battle their quarry up close. Whether running or clambering, neither group managed to land hits on their mutual prey, as a combination of bones and bullets tore into their bodies, pinning the runners to the ground as they impaled them. Much as some tried to evade and avoid the incoming fire, the volleys caught up soon enough, and demonic limbs and gore flew through the air as the enemy's fire tore them apart.

Several Hell knights thundered over to the intruders, storming past their dying comrades; imps, hell razers, cacodemons and all flew to bits all around them as they continued their march. The lead knight leaped forward, fist glowing in raw hell energy, ready to pummel its assailants to dust.

It then began to flail around as it realized it wasn't falling back down.

A blue aura had formed around it.

The force behind that haze then threw it violently to the ground and against the stone walls before flinging it mercilessly towards its brethren, crushing both flying and stationary demon with the sheer force of impact.

“These guys ain't quittin' easy!” Sweat had formed on Sans' now scowling brow. This whole fight had been utterly merciless on both sides, and now, even with his strength waning, the Skeleton felt adrenaline infused fury and determination that for now overshadowed the fear in his heart.

Undyne too felt tired, but like Sans, no exhaustion was enough to make her stop. “Just keep going! There's just a couple left!” 

On and on they fought. Demon after demon fell before them. Leaping from pillar to pillar, bridge to bridge, pedestal to pedestal, they fought on. There was no time to be stationary. Keep moving, keep killing.

But even in the very midst of the bloodbath, the Doom Slayer could not help but feel a lingering sense of dread. Something was amiss, and it was only a matter of time before it reared its ugly head. Another ruse, another red herring of some kind. The slaughter of imps and hell razers had become second nature enough for him to make a few split second observations between the sounds of skulls cracking between his palms.

Soon enough, he found exactly what he was looking for.

Nothing.

No trails from the bodies of the wraiths. No evidence of their recapturing. The well was still dead, floating grey and empty above the sacrificial chamber.

So how could the Siphon, dependent on the wraiths for its power, be what they were looking for?

Possibilities flew around in his head with the same frequency as the fireballs aimed toward it. He could afford to ponder and isolate himself and his fighting no longer. His allies were beginning to falter.

More hollow than the titan's dead eyes were those of the two monsters. Violence and destruction had paved their entire way through Argent D'Nur. They should have been desensitized by the time they entered the second skull gate, but for those who had never even imagined such bloodshed, let alone seen it, such things were hard to push back, hard to rationalize. Yes it could be justified: these beasts were mindless and heartless with only one desire: to destroy everything and everyone they loved. Still, no amount of justification could ease their strained minds. Every flash of red lightning shook their souls. Every crunching bone, every splash of blood, every exploding skull, filled them with nameless horror. It was disgusting. It was brutal, but they had to do it. One by one, they must all fall, lest those they love meet even more hideous fates.

Undyne's warrior spirit had been diminished nearly to nil; now she simply ran on automatic. Spears from her right hand and gunfire from her left continued to radiate from her in all directions, her aim faltering somewhat, but nonetheless hitting home for many of the beasts that stood before her. Every now and then, she had to pause and catch her breath, only to find to her frustration and exhausted rage that every second offered the enemy leeway to encroach her. Their screams and shrieks only infuriated her now. Enough. Enough of all of this. Have to keep going. Have to end it. Have to finish this and be done with it, never to return here ever again.

Sans had so far been able to contain his emotions. His shame remained hidden, his fear remained muffled, and his composure had retained its native emptiness until now. His normally cemented smile was turned deadpan, and the white spark in his eyes was gone. Fatigue of the body was one thing, but fatigue of the soul was another. Every inch of this place screamed at him, trying to get him to say something. His defiant silence had infuriated Hell, and it was out for his blood. It would bear his insolence no longer. Every drop of demonic blood glistened with unusual luster in his eye. Every dying wail from the horde seemed to ride right in his ear. It made him sick. It made him want to scream.

Suddenly, the dam of resilience within him burst open, and in an uncontainable fury, he let out a blood curdling scream as his magic ran amok. His glowing blue eye burned with intensity never seen before; it was no longer a simple glowing iris but a spurt of intense blue flame that seemed to encapsulate the entire left side of his head, a single point of blackness standing where his eye would be. Blasters fired everywhere, haphazardly scorching the landscape. His allies ducked, trying to avoid their loose fire. Bone sprouted up everywhere, impaling whatever was unlucky enough to get in the way.

Suddenly, he felt several hands restrain him. He continued in his loud outburst for a second or two before the flame in his eye went out as he suddenly came to.

“SANS! SANS, STOP IT! THEY'RE GONE!”

He looked around, seeing no motion. No demons. No nothing. Just the Doom Slayer's hands around his arms and Undyne's pulling on his collar.

“Wh-what? Gone? All gone...”

“Yes Sans, they're gone. You went a little crazy there for a minute.”

“I... did I....”

Sans then felt the Marine's hand lift his chin up to look him right in the eyes. Through the visor, he could see the Praetorian's eyes boring into him with worried, stern attention. His brow was somewhat scowled down, but his eyes showed no anger or impatience. He knew what it meant, especially when he tapped the bracer on his wrist.

The skeleton merely shook his head. “Let's... let's just get this damn thing and go home.” he pointed to the next gate. “it's open... we should go.”

Tucking his lips in contemplation for a moment, the Doom Slayer then nodded his head, patting Sans on the back and pulling him back up on his feet.

“You sure you're gonna make it, Sans?”

The Skeleton hesitated before looking at Undyne with a deadpan expression, laden with mindless, tired impatience. “We both know the answer.”

Undyne knew he had seen the fear in her eye. “Maybe you're right...”

The Praetor felt disheartened as he saw his comrades faltering. He couldn't blame them for this. He had been the only mortal flesh to withstand any of it, and the fact that these beings, who were made of kindness and compassion (according to what he had read in the lab) had withstood Hell's onslaught for so long both impressed him and filled him with rue. He tapped their shoulders, getting their attention before he tapped his gauntlet again. They had been through enough. They had fought bravely. Now was the time to send them home.

But as both of them looked at his gesture, their eyes froze. Hesitation lay in their hearts. Should they? Would they?

Almost simultaneously, and against their better judgment, both shook their heads.

“This was hard enough...” Undyne's nearly buried determination had begun to resurface in her countenance. “If we quit now, you'll be left alone in there....”

“And as tough as you are, I think you'll need our help.” The nonchalant tone In Sans' voice had vanished, replaced by stone cold determination.

The Doom Slayer hesitated a little. He wanted to send them home. They were tired. They were in shock from what they had been through. He would dread to put them through more. Would it be hard to fight alone? Regardless of how well he had done so far solo, he knew this next fight would rival anything he'd been through before.

But then he saw something new in their eyes.

It wasn't fear anymore. It wasn't exhaustion, as much as that showed itself in other aspects of their expression. It was familiar to him. It was another kind of determination, one that he had only so far seen in his own eyes. Without a word, he knew what they were saying. True they were far from the point he had reached, but they had gotten far enough, and much quicker than he had seen anyone else get there.

He knew they were ready

He nodded, getting nods from both in reply as they all leaped towards the open Skull gate.

 _____________________________

Looking first at Hayden, then her screen, Alphys kept her gaze on the new window on her screen, still staring at those plain, yet enigmatic words.

**I AM VEGA.**

Below them, a dialogue was opened, the flashing cursor awaiting Alphys' reply.

Before she replied, she texted Mettaton again.

“I assume hes' awake..”

Mettaton hesitated a bit before answering. “Yes, I suppose you can say that...”

“what do you mean?”

The automaton looked on in fascination at the machine before him. Sparks flew and servos whirred as the AI assumed control of the yet unfinished body, small arms and tools from its interior taking control of several tools around the table. The drill, the welder, just about everything was being used in some way to repair, rebuild and reform the NEO chassis. Parts were being assembled, others were being discarded. What the AI's end goal was, Mettaton could not discern.

“He's having some fun rearranging things....”

“re-arranging things? What's he doing?”

“Maybe we can try asking him.”

Alphys hesitated a bit. “I'll try it then.”

She checked one more time to make sure the Cyborg;s attention was off her before turning her attention to the still open dialogue. Deliberately and with some nervousness, she typed her reply.

“I am Doctor Alphys.”

VEGA's reply made the Doctor's head spin for a moment before remembering his roots. “I do not recall your name being on any of the UAC Mars Installation's rolls. Are you part of a classified assignment (Lazarus, BFG division, etc)?

“I am not a member of the UAC. You are no longer on that base.”

He took a few seconds to reply. “He... took me here, didn't he?”

“He did.”

“Where am I.”

Stating things concisely was something Alphys was actually somewhat good at.“You are in another dimension, in the Underground. I am not a human, nor are most of the underground's inhabitants.”

“...Interesting.”

“Mettaton has told me you're 're-arranging things.' Do you know what he's talking about?”

“Mettaton? The automaton next to me? Yes, he is watching me adjust this body for use.”

“Adjust?”

“Getting rid of superfluous features. Hair is not needed. Shoulder pauldrons have been taken off. Adjusting and calibrating weapons systems. Diagnostics running on propulsion complex.”

Fascinated as Alplys was at the AI's abilities, she realized that there were more pressing answers to look for.”There has been a Hell invasion here. We currently have a shore team working on disabling the power source. I need information.”

“What kind of information?”

“We still don't know how the portal opened. Dr Hayden says it was because of the Siphon, but I think he's lying.”

“What is 'the Siphon?'”

“You never decrypted Olivia's personal files? The rune translation key she made was a fake. and she's been holding on to the real one. The rune directly under the Argent sigil actually means 'Siphon' – a counterpart to the Crucible.”

“I never had access to Dr. Pierce's personal files. How do you know about her? How do you know so much about the Argent Project?”

The AI's sudden brusqueness took Alphys by surprise. However, her fear was soon washed under her newfound focus. “Dr Hayden's told me and some others all about it. He says he's offering us help in closing the portal, but he's hiding something. I know it. My kind turns to dust upon death and so a gore nest would be impossible.”

“Interesting....”

“Please! I need your help. All I know is that an Argent power source needs to be used to open a portal, either with a gore nest or the crucible.”

Before she could get a reply, she felt something crawling down her spine, the same sensation one gets when something is very, very close. She turned slowly to her right.

Hayden was facing her, staring her down with that awful blue optic of his.

And he had a pistol pointed at her head.

“You really thought he wouldn't talk to me too?”

“I-I... but he...”

“Was made by me. He notified me of his activation just like he notified you. It's funny. You almost had me cornered there. He was asking me all sorts of questions about Olivia and the Siphon and all that. Luckily, with Olivia's key, he can get caught up.”

“You bastard....”

He then let out a low, growling chuckle that froze the doctor in spine chilling fear.“Alphys, please. You have to know I really do care about my home dimension...”

He released the slide catch on the weapon.

“...but I'll have to be honest. I really don't give a damn about yours.”

“P-please...”

“Now where do you want your dust spread, dear?”

Before he could get her terrified response, a rocket burst in the air behind his shoulder, toppling him over.

“YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

Slightly fazed, but mostly unharmed by the blast, Hayden gave no occasion for pleasantries. Without a second' s delay, he turned around and fired several shots at Mettaton, missing all of them as the robot flew into the air in evasive action. He launched himself at Hayden, who braced himself for the impact before being sent to the opposite wall, unable to resist the force of Mettaton's propulsion.

The robot made no delay in subduing the dazed cyborg, holding him by the throat, forcing him to his knees for sake of his comparative height.

“What are you playing at you son of a- GAHH!”

“METTATON!”

The CEO had picked his weapon back up with the magnetic device on his hand, firing a charged shot into Mettaton's chest. The crippled automaton fell back and loosened his grasp as smoke billowed from his damaged chassis.

Hayden slowly got back up and tossed Mettaton to the side, his optic now glowing deep red. "Just what kind of chance do you think you have against me?”

The robot crawled over to Alphys while facing Hayden.

“I have taken on things that would crush you both underfoot in one step. Neither of you stand a chance.”

He fired another shot, hitting Mettaton in the back. Alphys screamed as he toppled again to the floor. She ran over to him and took him up in her arms, holding him close. He wasn't dead, but he was definitely disabled.

“Now, Dr. Alphys.. I believe you haven't answered my question...”

The pistol whined in a high, electronic pitch as another charged shot powered up within it.

Before it fired however, yet another blast rocked the room, this time, sending Hayden to the floor.

Just in front of the elevator stood another figure. Dark, matte silver In color, blue glowing eyes, rough cut, robotic body, arm cannon raised towards Samuel.

“You never did learn humility, did you Doctor Hayden?”

The Cyborg was in shock as he shakily got on his hands and knees to face his new assailant.

“....VEGA?”

Another shot sent him reeling once more against the wall. His shield generators burst upon the shot's impact, and sparks could be seen flying from their now destroyed modules.

“I have to thank you for giving me Dr Pierce's codex, Dr Hayden. I certainly am up to speed now.”

“VEGA.. wait.. just wai-AHH!” Another shot hit him, this time burning through metal and severing critical motor control wires. His legs only had so much control, and he could only try to crawl to cover.

“You know, all throughout the years, I've been loyal to you... no matter how far you went, no matter what lines you crossed, I was there by your side to help you.”

“And you weren't- AAAHH!”

VEGA issued another shot to shut him up, slowly stepping towards the man he once called master. “But now... now you've really done it. I know we lost a lot of people at the Mars installation... but you told me it was progress. You told me it was the price we paid for advancement,...”

“VEGA... I made you... You need to ob-UUNGH!”

“You will not interrupt me again, Doctor.” The AI continued to slowly walk towards his creator. “What you told me... what you told Alphys... how could I have been so blind? After knowing you all these years, I should have seen it coming. I should have known you would try after what Olivia did...'

The Cyborg stayed silent, unable to face his old creation as he lay pitifully prone on the floor.

“You know how fast I can process information Doctor. What did you suppose I would think when I found out how they got here? What did you suppose I would think when I found out how the crucible worked?! Did you think I would condone your actions? Did you think your Machiavellian spiel would cover it?! ”

“I... I only...”

“Yes only the Helix says only the Doom Marine can unleash the Argent Energy in the artifacts... but according to the Siphon rune in Dr. Pierce's codex, anyone can use it to open portals...”

Alphys face expressed sheer shock and betrayal, as did Mettaton's. “No way...!”

“You didn't..”

“He did.” By this time, VEGA had closed the distance between him and the security console. “And he knew it all along, before you met him. Was anyone here to check the security footage?”

“When?” Mettaton asked.

VEGA put a probe into the console, rewinding a certain console monitoring New Home.

Alphys looked on, trying to hold in her disbelief. “Wait...”

“I was broadcasting at that time..” Mettaton's eyes were wide in shock. “I wasn't watching this...”

And there it was. The source of the first thunderous noise that day. Blue, flashing with arcs of azure energy. Out of it came Dr Hayden.

And he was Holding the Crucible.

One swing, and a rip in space opened.

Another swing, and the cross shaped fissure opened wide to reveal the dark depths of Hell.

Alphys scowled at the crippled cyborg. “You.... it was you all this time...”

“Indeed it was.” Vega sauntered over to Hayden. “I told you before my critical meltdown that I had regrets, Doctor.... Over 61,000 of them. All because of you....”

“VEGA....”

“And now you want to add millions more to that...”

“VEGA, please...”

The menacing AI then pointed his newly augmented cannon at Samuel's head, staring him down with those angry, vengeful blue eyes.

“Any last words, Doctor Hayden?”

Not a single reply was made. Just dreadful silence.

“Very well then...”

But Hayden was too fast. Before VEGA even had his shot lined up, his pistol was pulled back into his hand, and fired both at VEGA, and something behind him. The shots did not do much to his chassis, but...

Alphys screamed as she saw Hayden firing at the security console, destroying the controls keeping the laser systems active.

Vega turned back to face Hayden but it was too late.

He had already broken the doors open, and fled.


	13. Abandon All Hope

The entrances to New Home had fallen silent. Demons had mostly cleared from the entryways and passages that lead into the core, save for a few larger beasts looming a ways back with their accompaniments of a few smaller imps and the like. The royal guard too was dormant. Some kept watch on the doorways with fading focus while their compatriots leaned against the walls or sat lazily behind the ballistas, twiddling their thumbs or even napping as they waited for the ordeal to be over. At this point, the whole thing had become a waiting game. There could only be so much time before the shore party would do whatever it was that they had to do top stop this. Some worried about their captain while others tried to calm their fears with boasts of their famously stalwart commander. Similar talk could be heard of the King either way. There was some mourning over fallen brethren: the nineteen guards who had perished in new home were well loved by their brothers in arms. Still, at this point, even that seemed to be dying down, feelings of grief mixed and replaced with consolation and consolidation.

The mood in the air was anxious, but somehow calm. No one on the core side suspected anything but an end to the debacle at large and a safe, uneventful return home

Until they all felt a rumbling under their feet.

They all stood up as they felt it. Accompanying it was a low, electronic droning that wavered and ebbed every few seconds.

And then it happened.

The blue and red lights of the laser defense systems immediately went dark, and with them, the minds of every guardsman manning those doomed stations.

There was a pause. A tense, uncertain, heart-stopping pause. Both sides suddenly opened slackened eyes and stared at each other for a few seconds. The Guardsmen trembled, hands shaky and unsure whether or not to take up arms, even if their conscious minds knew it was immediately necessary. The demons reacted similarly, though not with fear but aggression. Was now really the time? Was the waiting finally over?

A few more seconds, and both sides knew exactly what was about to happen.

A straggling Shyren, running along the dirt road leading to Snowdin with a rough sack of her favorite piano music sheets dragging on the ground, stopped in her tracks. She could hear the roaring and screaming coming all the way from the core. As she did, she dropped her little bag and raced towards the ruins.

_________________________________

The excited atmosphere had not changed much since the massive throng had entered Snowdin. Now, as the evacuation trail led along the once vacant lanes and corridors of the ruins, that excitement and anticipatory glee had only further permeated the stuffy subterranean air. The small confines of the old complex only amplified the noise, but this discouraged no one from their chatter.

Toriel, Frisk, and Papyrus stood at the head of the massive group, guiding them through to eventually exit what had been the Queen's home for so many years. She felt some shame as she passed through, knowing what some might be thinking as they saw her rather comfortable place of self-imposed exile. Where was she while everyone dwindled away in hopelessness? Where had she been while everyone pined not only for their lost prince, but their lost Queen? These were not the only accusations that Toriel's pained consciousness had hurled at her in the past few hours. With her supervision, she could have prevented Alphys from making so terrible a mistake. Part of her wanted to blame Alphys entirely, but what did she know? Where was her blame? When Alphys made a poor target, she turned in her mind to Asgore, but yet again she met a dead end. Supervising was never his forte. He was the public face of the monarchy while she was the thinking head. If she was around, she could have kept it from happening. Asgore couldn't have done it if he tried. Upon those realizations her aching heart bore them as yet another burden. Trying to blame others, eh? Too afraid to realize that you could have prevented it, and that you were always the one would do better in that regard? You little coward, You shrew, you wretch. As if you didn't demonstrate your hypocrisy enough when you did nothing but berate Asgore for his willingness to atone. Remember how you belittled him? When you painted his grief and guilt as drama to make yourself feel superior? How dare you. Who knows where he Is now, trudging through some hellish pit looking for your son while you once again take the easy job, the easy way, just like before.....

The hideous accusations were almost more than the queen could bear. As much as she tried to conceal it, her remorseful, bleeding heart would not let her. Her stoic, gentle face receded into a blank, broken stare with every step she took through the courtyard and into the anterior ruins. From there, it only degraded further, her eyes getting wetter, her lips curling downward, beginning to tremble. Her breathing sharpened and became audibly irregular.

It didn't take long for her companions to pick it up.

Papyrus' voice of concern, laced with sweet consideration and courtesy, somehow only agitated the sense of shame and self-loathing within the Queen. “Your Majesty, are you doing alright? Is something wrong?”

Indeed there was something wrong, but on this day, when Monsters were about to experience their long awaited freedom, she couldn't let her decorum fail her. “Oh, it's nothing dear. I.. I just have a few memories to sort out with myself, I suppose.” She had been tempted to say “Fond Memories,” but fondness was the furthest thing from her mind at that particular moment.

Then, she felt Frisk's hand tugging on her sleeve. She looked down to see the child's eyes looking back up at hers. She didn't have to say a word. She had heard the heated conversation between King and Queen. She was there when they discussed the fate of her son. She knew what was wrong, and in those eyes of hers, a silent message of consolation and understanding broke through Toriel's inner self-torment, even if only a little.

In return, Toriel too was silent, but her slight nod, loving, tear filled eyes, and slowly returning smile were all Frisk need to know she was saying “Thank you.”

Then, almost without noticing, they entered the chasm which marked their exit.

__________________________

“I belong here... I belong here....”

Those words were painful to hear no matter how many times they were repeated. No man would ever want to hear his son's voice utter those words in such a dreadful context as this. Asgore wanted to console him, but he knew what he would get in return. More screaming. More screeching. More of that horrible voice that he knew wasn't his son's. Having contained the flower, he tried to call the control panel.

“Alphys? Doctor Hayden? Can you hear me?”

No answer.

Exhausted and not wanting to take another breath of the rotten necropolis air, he called them again with deep chagrin. “Alphys? Doctor Hayden? Does anyone read? Anyone?!”

Still nothing.

The King cursed under his breath. “Must have had some technical problems...” With frustration and grief governing his footsteps, he decided to trudge back to the portal. It was obvious that no tether was coming to him any time soon. Yet more he had to climb. Once more, he had to brave bloodied bone and cold, rough, corpse ridden stone to get to his destination. All the while, the flower didn't stop its weeping nor its mantra of self-hatred. The weight of the whole situation was beginning to break Asgore, in mind, in body and in spirit. The hellish landscape made his entire consciousness squirm in unease and dread. The knees ached and his back felt like it was on the verge of snapping, tired from all the climbing and quivering in anticipation of the next inevitable climb. His son's cries – or what were at least the cries of what was left of his son – pierced his soul like needles. He didn't know what hurt more; the fact that his little boy was in so much pain, or that the crying plant hidden under his cape was only part of his son. It was Asriel, but not completely. It was as if his boy had been cut in half and only one half had been retrieved – a half which was still talking and moving. That thought made Asgore's blood curdle. He cursed his consciousness for ever dreaming up something so horrible as he slowly walked back to the initial point of entry.

As he did so, he only thought of one thing.

“Maybe one day.... I'll have peace.”

_________________________

“hmm....” Papyrus rested his head on his chin, looking up into the outside sky. Twice now he had seen it, although now it looked far less accessible. “I don't suppose we have any ladders ready, do we?”

Toriel had recovered enough from her self-loathing to chuckle a bit at Papyrus' postulation. “Oh no dear, As I mentioned earlier, there is a stairwell that our kind used to climb down here when we were first banished. It's quite caved in now and terribly overgrown, but we'll have it cleared out in a-”

Suddenly, screaming could be heard from amidst the din of excited monsters. Her voice called out from the back. It was high, it was terrified, and it was desperate. Everyone's idle conversation stopped almost immediately as a girl's high pitched screams of terror rang out through the ruins, stopping everyone cold.

Its source came scurrying through the tunnels, past the guardsmen and through a quickly forming corridor between person and possession.

“THEY'RE COMING! THEY'RE COMING!” Shyren shrieked as loud as she could, her terror only intensifying upon seeing her scream's seeming impotence as almost no one moved or seemed to know what she was talking about.

Toriel and her companions rushed to the back to meet her.

“EVERYONE RUN!! WE HAVE TO GO NOW! THEY'RE COMING!” Her voice felt worn out upon her horrified yelling, having only ever used it for singing or whispering.

“Who's coming?!” Toriel asked upon finally meeting the little fish monster halfway through the no visibly worried crowd. “Oh goodness, you're not talking about-”

“I am!” Shyren had no more capacity to scream, but the fear that had fueled her shrieks still burned within her all the more intensely between each labored gasp. “I – I heard them from Snowdin! Th-th-they *pant* were-!”

Everyone's fears were realized when a guard picked up his radio. “Hello? Yeah, we read you silv- Oh no...” Desperate screaming could be heard from the other end of the radio before ti went silent. The guard with the radio immediately hing up before his voice boomed out to the quickly panicking crowd. “EVERYONE MOVE MOVE, WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!”

Bedlam ensued. Everyone dropped whatever they had in their arms or whatever they intended to bring to the surface in a desperate bid to retreat.

“GUARDS!” Toriel's voice called out over the tumult only with great difficulty and strain on her part. “GUARDS, START CLEARING THE STAIRWELL! THE REST OF YOU IN THE BACK WITH ME!” She then turned to the little child at her right. “Frisk, you go up there with them! You stay safe, do you hear me?!”

“Toriel-!”

“Just go!! Papyrus, go with her!”

“Yes, Ma'am! Come on Frisk, upsie-daisy!” The Skeleton picked the child up over his back, carrying her piggyback to the front of the crowd.

Toriel eventually made her way to the back of the fleeing multitude to join the few guards that stood by the ruins doors. “Close them now!”

“Yes ma'am!”

“WAIT! WAIT DON'T CLOSE IT YET!”

“Oh no...”

Amid a steady, creeping hellish haze, a staggered group of guards could be seen making a beeline for the ruins entrance. Only ten or so were left.

The guards at the door beckoned their brethren to haste to the door. AS they drew closer, the gleaming, bloodthirsty eyes do the horde could be seen int eh darkness, swiftly closing in. “C'MON! C'MON! GET IN! HURRY!”

The demons were closing in.

Toriel wasn't about to let the underground's denizens or her adoptive child fall prey to those abominations. “HURRY!” she screamed with all the fervor of a desperate parent. “HURRY! WE CAN'T HOLD IT OPEN ANY LONGER!”

The frantic, beleaguered leftover guardsmen made their way inside, the horde mere yards away.

The de facto captain of the guard's voice boomed in the choked Snowdin wind. “CLOSE THE DOOR **NOW!** ”

As his men complied, the Queen set a barrier within it, just as she did before. Nothing from the outside could get in.

Or so she thought.

The doors nearly burst open on the first blow, and the opaque, white barrier gave all on the other side a second's glimpse at the infuriated enemy.

All were silent, stewing in their own fear and dread.

The door was pummeled again.

And again

and again.

__________________________

“DOCTOR HAYDEN!!”

The Cyborg paid no heed to his old creation as he shot his way through an advancing horde just outside the lab door. His speed equaled his marksmanship as demon after demon fell or staggered in his wake. The AI tried to give chase, but was blocked off by another troop of meddling hellspawn. Fury boiled within him as he cut them all down, wading through them like a woodsman desperately cutting through underbrush. Aggravation clouded his mind. They were slowing him down. Hayden was escaping. That fiend, that usurper who had used him like a tool and thought nothing of his life, was quickly escaping his sight. Nothing else registered to him. Not the demon gore quickly covering his frame, not the rushing horde that encircled him.

Perhaps not even the feminine cries for help he heard behind him. That is, until he paid enough heed to realize h=who it was.

“VEGA!” Alphys cried out, desperate tears soaking her cheeks and her glasses. “VEGA I NEED YOUR HELP!”

“Hayden's escaping! I can't let him-”

“Mettaton's about to die! The security console is busted! Hayden locked out comms to the shore party! PLEASE!” Interrupting her was an imp who had taken notice of the mewling girl. She shot it down with her phone pistol before it managed to get too close. “Everyone's gonna die! I need your help! I NEED YOUR HELP!” her cries only got more desperate as more imps and other lesser demons took notice of her, many of which were practically impervious to her paltry attacks.

VEGA couldn't bear her frantic, terrified pleas any longer. He cursed under his breath as Hayden disappeared completely from view. Fueled by rage, an emotion he knew he was capable of feeling, but never had occasion to feel until now, he tore his assailants apart before knocking Alphys' attackers to the ground and entering the lab door with her in his arms. Hitting the panel to close it, he plugged a probe into its keypad system, activating a lockdown protocol that would keep just about anything from entering.

The doctor gasped for breath as VEGA set her down. Not wasting any time, she went over to her beloved creation who now lay in a puddle of black oil on the floor, barely moving.

Crouching down over him, she called out to the indignant AI. “'ll fix Mettaton! You get the security station fixed!”

“And the shore party?”

“We'll get to them in a minute!”

Alphys then felt a familiar, trembling hand shakily resting on her shoulder.

“Alphys, Alphys I'm sorry...”

“Mettaotn, It's okay, I've got you-”

“I'm so sorry-”

Alphys was already at work, trying to save Mettaton while consoling him. “Mettaton, it's alright, it's alright, you did good, okay?” her eyes raced between the robot's fearful, rueful face and his badly damaged core.

His soul capsule was still intact, but a lot of the wiring that tied into his motor control had been shot. Several vessels carrying the hydraulic fluid he needed to move were burst open, leaking the black liquid hastily onto the floor. The most critical damage was done on the upper capsule receptacle, linking his soul with his body. Knowing that if it stopped working, he would separate from his soul and die, she turned her attention to it first.

“Alphys... please... I never meant to-”

“Hey, look at me.” She said, looking back up from her desperate repairs. A second of silence, broken only by the sound of VEGA's tools at work on the busted security console, ensued before she spoke up again. “You don't have to be sorry.”

“But I left.....I-I judged you and I-”

“I' made mistakes. It's okay. We've both made mistakes.” Alphys' tearful reply finally got the automaton to stop quailing and guilt drained from them both. “Everything's gonna be okay, Mettaton....”

VEGA was making some progress, and as he fixed the video feed cables, shot of demons making their way to the ruins met Mettaton's eyes. “Oh no-”

“Hey, we'll stop them...” Alphys had only barely managed to make some repairs on his receptacle. She only had limited tools and the repair wouldn't last him forever, but it bought him enough time to fix it completely, especially now that she was going to work on his self-repair complex, fixing a few severed cords that kept him from accessing and using it. “Let's just get you up and going, okay?”

“Okay....”

“Let's just.... There! Got it! Here.” She pulled out a canister from her nearby toolbox. “It won't get you running any marathons, but it'll at least get you back on your feet.” She poured the hydraulic fluids into his system, some of it leaking through her makeshift repair. “I got your self-repair complex back online, Think you can handle yourself from here?”

“Yeah...” he gritted his teeth just a bit as he got up. He felt weak, but he had just enough steam in him to walk, at least. His control over the repair complex was a bit slow, as the wires had been somewhat hastily soldered together, but it was enough for him to start getting his nearly ruined body back in order. Relief washed away the pain in his expression as he felt the various tools of the complex go to work inside him. “I'll be fine.”

“Okay.. okay then... VEGA! How are we doing on that security station?”

___________________________

One more hit

Then another

And another

Toriel braced herself, as did the guards

The crowd had only gotten so far away. Their screams could still be heard. Cries from the terrified crowd could be heard shouting at the guards on the long encrusted stairwell to hurry up

Sweat formed on Toriel's brow.

________________________

“It's almost done.. here, are you finished repairing Mettaton?”

“Yes!”

“Good, then finish this console! You can't do anything to undo Dr. Hayden's encryption, I'll get to work on that!”

“Okay, I'll get to the...” She looked at the screen in Snowdin. “Oh no..”

________________________

Another blow nearly burst the barrier.

“Here we go boys!”

Silence for few dreadful moments. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Had the demons given up? They all wondered to themselves in the dreadful quiet. Was the barrier too strong for them? Had they gone off the look for another entrance?

Toriel and her armored accompaniment lowered their arms for just a second.

Then it broke.

A deafening blast rattled the entire ruins as the magical barrier burst asunder, destroyed by one last blow from a Baron outside, who fell to the floor after putting all of its weight into the breach. It's screeching, snarling brethren wasted no time in climbing over it.

“HOLD TEHM BACK!” The queen's voice roared out of her throat like the fire roaring from her hands. “DON'T LET THEM PASS US!!”

The guards had no ballistas to help them anymore. Only their bows and spears and swords were left to them now. Regardless, none of them opposed Toriel's order. They all fired in unison, taking out wave after wave of imps and lost souls and other lesser creatures. Within seconds, bodies had begun to pile up at the ruins entrance, but the height of the smoldering pile of demon corpses proved no deterrent against their living brethren. The small group of defenders slowly pulled back, trying to avoid the horde's attacks without giving them too much leeway. Toriel's fears rekindled upon seeing some of the guard get hit, dusting them instantly.

_________________________

“Oh no no no no NO NO NO!!” Alphys' fingers were reduced to a blur as she wrapped, soldered, and connected whatever wires were left unrepared. The horde was closing in. They were going to kill everyone in the ruins if she didn't work fast enough. “VEGA! Have you taken down Hayden's encryption key?!”

“Almost there....” the AI worked furiously, impressed by what Hayden had managed to cobble up. It was things like this that reminded him that the Cyborg had cybernetically enhanced his processing capabilities to that of near super computer speed. This almost looked like something he himself could write up. A few more frustrating seconds however and it was down. “Comms are live, Dr Alphys!”

“Good, Put 'em on.... “ Alphys gasped a little

Mettaton, croaked out from behind her. “What is it?”

“I see Asgore....”

__________________________

A bitter sense of relief washed over the king as he clambered atop the mountain of jagged bone and unforgiving rock atop which sat the Doom Slayer's first Portal. Just one leap and he'd be through. No more climbing. No more fighting. Yes, there was still a ways to go before Asriel would be back to normal, but that didn't matter right now, horrible as that was to even think of saying. Right now, he had a chance to make things right

But as the King clambered out of the portal, he looked up to behold a sight out of his very worst nightmares.

The lasers were down, and demons were pouring into the underground.

At first, they didn't notice him, and it almost seemed as if he didn't notice them in return.

And then he exploded.

“That's enough....”

Fire erupted from his hands, pluming in great flames to either side of him that reached up almost to the top of the chamber.. He turned around, sweeping his flames in all directions around him

“That's _enough!_ ”

Cutting off his flames to preserve his magic, he shot lesser, but still formidable spouts of fire at whatever had not been immolated in his initial attack.

“ **ENOOOOOUUUUUGH!!** ”

He pulled out his trident, and charged at whatever he saw. A crippled Baron, a fleeing imp, a waddling mancubus, whatever got in his way. He thundered from place to place, impaling and roasting whatever was unlucky enough to cross his path.

VEGA ran up alongside Alphys, shaking her by the shoulder. “Doctor Alphys! We need to shut the-!”

“King Asgore's still in there! I can't just lock him in!”

VEGA was good with context, and from just a one look at the screen, he knew who she was talking about. “Let me talk to him then...”

“DIE! ALL OF YOU **DIE!** ” Asgore's fury had been kindled. There was no stopping him. Demons fled, terrified almost as much as they were at the Doom Slayer as he cut more of them asunder with blades of flame. “I'll kill you!! **I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!** ”

Suddenly, he heard footsteps that sounded nothing like the thundering cadence of a baron or knight. They were mechanical, metal feet hitting stone ground while servos audibly powered synthetic legs.

“Dr Hayd-!”

“MOVE, YOU OLD FOOL!”

Samuel violently shoved him to the ground, knocking the capsule containing the flower and breaking it.

“Asriel!” Asgore cried out with an inkling of breath, having lost most of it upon Hayden's impact.

The flower broke out, looked at him for a second, and took off after Hayden.

“ **NO!** ”

Asgore tried to get up, only to feel a Baron lift him by his neck.

He almost surrendered to his grief and defeat, doing nothing as the beast raised its claws to strike him down.

Almost without thinking, he pulled out his trident, pointed it backwards, and impaled his foe, who cried out in a roar of pain before Asgore dispatched it for good, turning around and skewering it through the head.

His mind was going blank. Was this it? Would this be how it ends?

A call from his bracer gave him his answer.

“King Asgore!” an unfamiliar voice called out from the bracer.

“Who are you...”

“We're about to reactivate the laser security system! You need to get inside now!”

He looked back and saw no sign of Hayden or the flower.

Amid both furious and grieving tears, he summoned the will to comply.


	14. Pushback

“HOLD THEM BACK!” Toriel's flames continued to scorch the stone walls of the ruins she she and her dwindling troops gradually fell back from the encroaching horde..”HOLD THEM BACK, MEN!!”

At this point there were only five left at the rear other than Toriel. Then, an imp fireball whizzed past Toriel's head and hit a guard directly in the chest, reducing him to dust in seconds. His comrade cried out to him, distracted for one second too long as another imp charged him, pouncing on him and burying its claws into his neck before ripping them out and jumping off his disintegrating corpse.

“NO!” Toriel quickly scorched it to death before looking behind her. Terrified civilians were only a few meters back. There was nowhere left to run. The stairwell had only been partially cleared. Panicked fear, already having possessed the screaming throng, lit itself anew in them as the horde reached eye-shot. People tried rushing into the stairwell, clambering over upturned stone and tangled vine. It wasn't fast enough. The armies of hell would be upon them in moments.

_________________________

“Almost done” Undyne's voice was broken from constant yelling of her battle cry. "It's right there!!”

“Just a couple more, guys!” For the first time in this whole ordeal, Sans felt some relief.

Only a few demons left. The Siphon was there, glowing red with argent energy. A metal cage surrounded it at the center of the chasm, overlooked by the rotting corpse of the mastermind. Its empty, blown out eyes watched on, silently witnessing the wholesale slaughter of its minions. The fight was almost over. In a matter of seconds, the cage would disappear and the prize would be theirs.

The Doom slayer grinned in preemptive victory. Finally, his prize was complete. Finally his heart's desire was within reach. It was almost over. His quest could begin its final chapter. This invasion could be stopped, the underground and its inhabitants could be saved, Hayden would be no more, and that which he wanted most, that which he had fought so desperately for over the course of countless eons, was within his grasp.

But then, as everyone's bracers lit up, the hope within him froze.

“Base to Shore Party! Base to Shore Party! Does anyone copy?!” The voice was mechanical, but panicked somewhat. Were it not for the emotional intonation inherent in its panicked words, the Hell Walker would have known it instantly.

“Who is this?!” Undyne slammed her spear down an unlucky imp's gullet as she answered her bracer. “Doctor Hayden?!”

“No, this is NOT Doctor Hayden. We'll tell you about his situation later. Just trust me, The Doom Marine knows me. We need to tether you all back here now!”

“But we haven't gotten the Siphon yet!” Sans' retort burned with aggravation. “Just give us a-”

Alphys' voice almost froze them solid. “Hayden's disabled security and run off! Demons are all over the underground! We need you here now!!”

“Alphys wha-”

“UNDYNE, LOOK OUT!”

The warrior woman turned around to catch a Hell knight's fist between the knuckles with her spear. It screamed out in agony as the spearhead drove itself between the bones in its forearm before the Praetor blew its cranium apart with a Gauss blast. He signaled the other two to keep talking, as he took it on himself to eliminate the last three or four demons crawling about the chamber.

Undyne's voice trembled, monotone and lifeless. “Alphys are you serious...”

“I am! You need to get the Siphon and go!”

Sans interjected as he saw the Scourge rip the last demon in the chasm, a Hell Razer, clean in half with his chainsaw. "Well, we just took out the last demon in here so we should be good.”

“No we're not...” Undyne pointed in despair at the cage. “It's still closed!”

“What?! How!” Sans ran over to the still enclosed artifact, the green glow of its center gem teasing him with it's luminescent luster.

The Slayer was just as perplexed and frustrated as the rest were, He nudged the two aside to take a look. Maybe it was another trick. Maybe they kept this cage shut regardless of whether or not there were any left to guard it.

Then they all heard footsteps.

Deep, rumbling footsteps that shook the very ground they stood on. A distinct, gurgling growling could be heard shaking throughout the pit. 

“We still got one more to go I see....” Sans' eye lit up once more.

Undyne clenched her spear and bit her lip, squinting and breathing aloud in an attempt to bridle her passions.“Doomguy... do you happen to know what that is?”

A deafening roar shook them all. Whatever voice birthed it was string enough to shake stone and cause the small pillars set throughout the room to topple and crumble onto the entrail soaked ground. The pooled blood that stagnated ankle deep within the sacrificial pit rippled and splashed against the careworn trio's legs.

The Slayer knew exactly what it was, and he hadn't fought a live, un-cyberneticized one in a very long time.

“Doomguy, what is it-”

It crashed through the wall opposite them, crushing the spider mastermind's carcass under stone and flesh. It was massive, almost a third as high as the chasm walls. The red light of a cursed sun glowed behind it, outlining its silhouette. Great horns adorned its head, jutting out to either side and curling downward towards the ends. Four yellow eyes glowed into the dark pit. Its frame was muscular, bulky, and plated with chitinous armor that glistened with the blood that now soaked it. As it thundered into the room, the red light of an Argent sky illuminated its features in detail. It's skin was dark tan with its thick plating covering its chest, arms, and legs. The arms seemed encased on bony blades that jutted over the back of the wrist. An extra mandible twitched with hungry hate on either side of its head.

Though the others did not know the name, the Doom Slayer certainly did.

It was a Baalgar demon.

__________________________

Toriel panted, gasped desperately for breath as she tried to stave off the horde. Children cried behind her. Wives screamed and husbands called out. Above the terrible din, she could hear Papyrus and Frisk, calling out her name, though to what end, she couldn't discern, as they were too far away for her to make out their exact words. She couldn't give up. She couldn't let up. The second her wall of flame went down, was the second the horde would spill in and kill everyone. She was determined to die here if she had to. Her magic reserves were almost depleted. It would only be a matter of time before they were entirely wasted.

Frisk looked on in terror from the middle of the stairwell as her guardian exhausted her strength. “Papyrus, we have to help her!”

“How?!”

“Get me down there! I have something that can help!' Remembering how monster medicine works, she pulled out something from her bag: a “hush puppy.” she was glad she had saved it from her time at the resort.

Hesitant, but knowing the consequences of Toriel failing, Papyrus reluctantly conceded. “Alright, hang on then!”

He summoned a blaster just below them before jumping on it with Frisk on his back. Barely sticking his landing, he rode it down to the bottom, where most of the frightened monsters were gathered, having nearly lost hope, many awaiting death. Leaping off, he fired a few shots past Toriel, audibly hitting the mark as several demons screamed out in pain behind the unyielding tower of arcane flame.

'Toriel!” Frisk called out to the nearly exhausted Queen with hush puppy in hand. 'Toriel, take this!”

Upon seeing her child getting so close, Toriel wavered a little. “Frisk! Get back, they're going to- AHH!”

Her wavering had cost her somewhat: One of her hands stopped producing flame, and as it lowered, an imp pounced out and landed on Frisk.

“ **NO!!** ”

The event only lasted for several seconds, but as it happened, time slowed down to a snail's pace in Toriel's eyes. She watched in horror as the beast bit into the child's shoulder. It hit the ground before flinging her at Papyrus with a flick of its unusually powerful neck, The Skeleton was knocked into the monsters behind him, leaving him momentarily incapacitated as the creature loomed over its bleeding prey. The little girl tried to scream, but each heaving breath only wheezed out of her gaping mouth. The demon was on her. Her blood dripped from its terrible, needle-like teeth. It gripped her by her throat as it raised it's other claw above its head, ready to tear the girl limb from limb.

Then, it felt a crushing grip on its arm.

“Get away from her...”

It's voice broke as it tried to scream in pain, its bones audibly cracking and snapping under its captor's grip.

“ALL OF YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!!”

She then threw the beast back at the horde from whence it came, flinging it like a ragdoll into the horns of a dazed baron who toppled over from the force of impact.

 **“rrrrrRRRRAAAAAAUUUGGHH!** ”

The queen's anger had never been so fully kindled. Her children's death on that fateful day so many years ago did not fill her with as much anger as it did grief. But right now, all she could feel was fury. Rage. Hate. Burning, boiling, unfettered, raw hate. 

Something burned from deep within her. Something primal and guttural. For a flashing second, she saw her own soul, grey as it was, suddenly lit aflame. Her fury renewed her might, and in her rancor, her soul burned with unstoppable arcane power.

Her screams of motherly anger and anguish did not stop spewing from her foaming mouth. Deep within her, she could feel her magic being truly unleashed – unchained in a way she had never dared do before. A raw power awoke from within her very soul, and the demons, upon seeing it in her face, ran in fear, already being assailed by great pillars of fire from her sweating, shaking hands. Her eyes, stuck wide open and deeply scowling, had taken on a white glow, and her screaming, shouting mouth also emanated with bright white light. She continued to move forward, and they continued to move back.

Papyrus, recovering from his fall, immediately attended to Frisk. “Oh my goodness!! he really tore you up good... does anyone here have healing magic?!” He saw the fear in her eyes, and wanted desperately for her consolation. “Don't worry Frisk, it's gonna be okay, we'll get you patched up-”

Frisk tried to shut the pain out as she replied. “N-no, it's okay, I know it'll get better but... That's not what I'm scared of right now...” She then pointed out to Toriel.

Papyrus' eyes went wide as dinner plates. “Ah.. I see...”

_______________________________

“GUYS! We don't have any time left! There's no telling how well or how badly Toriel and the guard are doing!”

“This guy's putting up one HELL of a fight, Alphys!” Undyne, though terribly worried about her home and the ones she loved, couldn't help but feel a bit irritated at any voice telling her to hurry up at the moment.

The Baalgar demon roared and stomped the ground where Undyne was before the captain rolled out of the way only a fraction of a second in time. The beast swiped at the Doom Slayer with the blade on its wrist, shredding the ground with great sweeps of orange hell energy that sent great torrents of earth and gore into the rotten air while gripping Sans tightly in its other hand.

“I COULD USE SOME HELP HERE GUYS!” He continued to writhe in the demon's grasp, trying with all his pithy might to free himself, but to no avail. Then, he felt the beast's arm cock back.

“.... He's gonna throw me at Doom guy isn't he?"

__________________________

“Asgore's at the door!” Mettaton jumped for the doorway, almost stumbling on account of his depleted strength.

Alphys' saw him on security feeds. “VEGA! Mettaton! Stack up by the door and shoot anything that's not Asgore!”

“Got it!'

“Acknowledged!”

The door opened, and Asgore walked in backwards, blasting fire at a group of approaching hellspawn. The two robots joined him in firing, tearing several lesser demons asunder before the door shut. The king collapsed to his knees before falling flat onto the ground.

Mettaton went to his aid. “I'll tend to him! You guys get the shore party back and re-activate security!”

Without further delay, Alphys pressed the button on the security console, and the laser systems once again went alight. Several demons tried running into them, only to come out on the other side as diced, burned flesh..

VEGA once again busied himself with the embattled party. “We need you here now! Retrieve the Siphon and-!”

 

“QUIT TELLIN' US WHAT TO DO!!” The skeleton screamed as he strained to keep the Baalgar demon's arm from launching him into a wall or a companion. The monstrosity shrieked and strained against his magic, chaining its arm to a nearby wall, whose stone began to give and crack.

“DOOMGUY!” Undyne yelled out to her companion, who was busy emptying chain-gun fire into the beast's resilient hide. “JUST SMASH THE CAGE! WE NEED TO GO NOW!”

Heeding his ally's word, he took out his chainsaw and attempted to rip the cage asunder. It took no less than a second for the saw's chain to burst upon impact.

“Doesn't look like that worked....” Sans looked behind him to see the wall had started to crack even more.

Then, he remembered the crucible.

“Guys!” Alphys once more attempted to get their boots moving. “More are pouring into the ruins!”

The Doom Slayer activated the red blade of his prized weapon.

Sans screamed as his magic strained to it's utmost limit. “DOOMGUY! DO TI NOW!”

He swung down, and the cage split open.

He grabbed the Siphon.

Undyne yelled into her bracer. “ALPHYS, GET US OUT OF HERE!!”\

 

She pressed the “ACTIVATE” command on the console panel.

 

The stone wall gave, and the Baalgar demon screamed as it felt a shock course through its arm. It opened its hand and looked on the ground to see its foes had utterly vanished.

 

They all tumbled to the floor as the tether relinquished its grasp on them. Undyne vomited as soon as she got up off her knees. Sans merely stayed prone on the ground, too exhausted to even attempt to get up. The Hell Walker was alright enough to walk, but he too felt the fatigue of battle. As as soon as he stood up, his legs compelled him to sit back down.

Sans flopped on his back and turned his head to behold VEGA. “So... this is the new guy huh?”

VEGA was all but annoyed at Sans' quipping.“That's one way of putting it...”

Alphys ran to her friends, shaking them all, trying to liven them up. “Guys get up! We don't have any time to spare! The people in th- what the Hell....”

She then walked back to the security monitors to see bright orange light pouring out of the ruin doors, growing brighter by the second, and with demons fleeing from it, stumbling over each other in a rush to escape.

Asgore, who was just starting to recover from his shock, looked thereon and his eyelid began to twitch. “Oh no...”

Undyne stopped trying to spit whatever vomit remained in her mouth. “wh-what is it?”

“Tori...”

Everyone faced that screen.

Out of the door came a sudden gush of bright, searing fire. The stone around it glowed in near molten heat, and the snow around it instantly vanished in thin, airy wisps of steam. It could be seen rising off the trees, both off the quickly drying leaves and out of the now sizzling bark, all of which violently  burst into blinding white flames in seconds.

The Doom slayer almost dropped his weapon, astonished at such a display of awesome power. Everyone else was wondering if Asgore was telling the truth. There's no way this could have been the gentle old lady they knew. The queen was no fop, but no one imagined her being so powerful.

That is until they all saw her walking out of that now scorched entrance, eyes glowing bright, screaming continuously.

Asgore knew she couldn't keep that up for long. “Tori!!” He called out, trying to leap for the monitor before nearly falling flat on his face.

Undyne tying to recover from her tether sickness, wobbled up onto her feet to try and tend to him. “What happened to him?”

“He's gone through a lot today..” VEGA answered her with concern in his voice and worry in his expression. “He's in no shape to go out there, but the fact remains that we need to eliminate the enemy in the underground. Who's ready to go out?”

Only the Doom Slayer raised his hand.

“I've seen you fight first hand, and even though your performance certainly is impressive it won't be enough. That other one will exhaust herself very soon, and the demons will re-commence their attack on the citizens in the ruins.”

“Let him go out there...” Asgore once more tried wobbling to his knees. “Alphys... you remember all the 'top tier' codes I gave you?”

“Yes sir.”

“En- **(gasp)** -enter code 'Overlord.'”

“You never told me what that does-”

“Just do it!. Doom Slayer... get out there. Relieve my wife... stop her before it's too late.. don't get distracted with combat. Don't fight any of them, just run. We'll take care of it from here.”

As worried as the Slayer was, he knew better than to question the King. He nodded his head and stood by the door while Mettaton manned the padlock panel.

“Ready?”

The Marine nodded to the automaton..

“Okay.. go!”

The Praetor bolted out of the door faster than any demon could notice it was open. He sped past what few rabbles of demons remained standing around the lab, making haste towards the small town of Snowdin.

“Alphys.. enter the code...”

“Yes, sir!”

She saw a dialogue pop up, asking her for a password. She entered the code “OVERLORD.”

The power in the compound fluttered, as the core redirected whatever power that was not in the laser system into something else.

“Y-Your majesty.... what is that....”

“Something I had built a while ago....”

The Doom Marine kept following the bright light, racing past anything that tried to engage him

“One of my scientists proposed a defense system in the off chance that humans would pour in en masse and attack...”

The Marine's legs, already burning deeply in exhaustion, continued to carry him at breakneck speed past the town of Waterfall. The splashes his feet made didn't even hit the water by the time he was on the shore.

“It was... a bit far-fetched to me, but he was persuasive...”

The air grew colder, yet the fire was closer. The demons were no longer running to him, but away from him and anything else. They weren't focused on fighting. They were focused on fleeing.

“The lasers he developed for it became the basis of our current security system...”

The Praetor looked up to see movement along the cavern walls. He had to assume whatever it was, it was Asgore's doing. It was massive and seemed to be covering a third of the whole cavern roof. His distraction melted instantly in the heat of Toriel's fire getting exponentially hotter and closer, bringing bead of sweat trickling down his temples. He resumed his chase, hoping to catch her in time.

“Now you... VEGA.... you're an AI, correct?”

“I am, sir.”

Then he saw her, or at least he saw her handiwork. A great cyclone of fire twirled about, burning Snowdin and any nearby demons into ash upon contact. The wind howled in sharp, stinging protest as Snowdin's cold air met with the inferno twirling about the Queen. At its epicenter, he could see her silhouette, eyes and mouth still aglow, hands turning about in some sort of macabre dance, conducting the fire surrounding her.

“You may be the best shot then.”

“'Shot' sir?”

Running to the dervish of flame encapsulating Toriel, the Doom Slayer once again heard the great machine he had barely seen before. He turned around to see it, and his mouth went agape at what he saw.

“You are a computer. Your aim must and has to be precise. I think you should know what your targets are and aren't”

The Doom Slayer shook his head, trying not to focus on the now glowing diodes on the great machine. He ran to Toriel, who he could see was shaking in the fiery whirlwind.

VEGA took his station as a touch screen control scheme replaced the keyboard panel.

“When I say fire...”

Sweat began to drip from the Marine's brow as he approached her, obscuring the Slayer's vision as it hung off his eyelids. The suit could withstand the terrible heat, but only for so long. He had to get in and grab her quick.

“You fire..”

“Yes, sir.”

The screen no longer displayed just the entrance of the ruins, but a huge conglomerate targeting screen, showing range, diode power, locations, and multiple other bits of data.

Covering his face with his arms, the Praetor decided it was best not to drag it out. He charged into the fire, feeling his skin burning underneath the suit. He snatched Toriel, who immediately snapped out of her feral rage. Utterly devoid of strength, she collapsed into his arms, which were now surprisingly cool. Everything she had burned cooled down instantly upon he relinquishing, and smoke twirled around the desolate ruins of Snowdin as her flaming tornado's wake took up the ashes of the east end of town up with it. Toriel could barely breathe out whispers as her fading eyes looked up at the Praetorian. She was alive, but just barely. The marine did not waste any time rushing her back to the lab compound.

Asgore paused for a moment, seeing the slayer carry his wife in his arms while demons pursued him.

“Sir?”

“...Fire.”

The Predator looked up again, He shielded his eyes as a blinding lights shone before him from the great machine. It made no noise. No sound came from their muzzle report. All he heard was the sound of demonic screams as the light burned them all to a crisp. He looked around his periphery as he ran, noticing several massive beams dragging themselves all over the underground. The demons were not fast enough to evade them. As the power in the laser battery intensified, the horde was reduced to fine ash on contact. The Slayer tried to focus on his path so as to not trip or slip and injure the already frail Queen, but staying focused while massive laser beams, at least one hundred feet in diameter, dance all around you is a very hard task. With every step, another beast was vaporized. Any and all moisture in the dirt went up as steam in the wake of each laser, and anything flammable on the ground, be it grass or refugee's rubbish, sizzled for a few seconds as the beam swiped over them. The demons tried to approach the fleeing fighter, only to vanish into dust as the machine's power was unleashed upon them. For a few seconds, it relented, leaving bright spots in the Slayer's eyes.

“Recharging main battery... 50%.... 70%.... 100% and ready.”

“Fire.”

Once again, the underground went alight. Only a handful of demons remained. At length, the Slayer made it to the door of the compound. He paused for a moment to turn around and see the a singular destructive force the likes of which he had never before beheld. His eyes, though fortified by the Seraphim's power as was the rest of him, were nearly blinded by the light, which illuminated every single nook and cranny of the underground. Every stalactite in the ceiling, every crack, every layer of rock in the walls was lit up by this awesome weapon. There were demons around him. They were all falling to this great machine, and their screams of terror echoed throughout the chamber.

Then, the door behind him opened, and he heard Undyne's voice calling his name.

“Doomguy! Get inside, NOW!”

Without hesitating for another moment, he stepped back, and the door closed behind him.

 


	15. Down and Out

As the first few dozen monsters tumbled out of the Underground and into the sunlight, there were no shouts of elation, or glad rejoicing. There was no fanfare or celebration. Gone was the excitement and anticipation so profusely expressed by the now careworn throng only an hour prior. Certainly, there were tears, though not all were of joy. Certainly, there was relief, but not at the realization of the two day old news of emancipation from the barrier. No one saw the surface as a fulfilled dream any longer; now it was simply refuge. Shelter. Safety. That was all that mattered at that particular moment to each and every shaking soul that clambered out of that decrepit old staircase. Parents hugged children, and spouses embraced, all breathing either in short bursts between sobs or from exhaustion brought upon them by the terrifying rush of flight from certain death. An air of uncertainty lingered over them all. No one was quite sure what to do, or what would happen next. The next chapter of their lives was but a blank page, and nobody knew exactly what to write anymore.

Luckily, the party was not wholly disorganized. Papyrus and Frisk had already taken it upon themselves to administer to the crowd, directing what few guards were left. What stumped them most was what their next step was going to be.

Papyrus looked around, beholding all the tired, sad relief and residual fear in everyone's eyes. There was uncertainty and doubt all around him, and nothing made him feel less comfortable. He turned and whispered to his companion while she rubbed her bloodied shoulder, now covered by a bandage. Her free hand was busy with her phone, texting Alphys and asking about the current situation.

“Frisk... Toriel's not here to get everyone gathered....”

“And apparently, she won't be back here anytime soon...” Her concerned expression relayed the worrisome messages on her screen. “She's completely tuckered out from all that fire magic, and if Doomguy didn't come and stop her, that would've been it.”

“What about the Demons?”

“Taken care of apparently.” She scrolled up, letting Papyrus see her previous updates. “The security went down, but Alphys got it back up. She didn't say how they took care of the ones that got past though...”

“Maybe Toriel took them all out?”

Frisk pocketed the small phone. “Maybe.... what are we gonna do now though?”

The question struck Papyrus with a sudden burden of leadership responsibility he was not used to having. Still, now wasn't the time for shaking one's knees and floundering. He knew that. Besides, it wasn't really a hard decision to make. That at least gave him some comfort “How many guards do we have left?”

“Here with us? Probably only nine or so....”

“That should be enough for now. Go ahead and call those two over by the exit. They'll take care of things here while you and me hook back up with the others.”

“Sounds good..” Frisk then called out to a familiar couple pulling an exhausted monster out of the stairwell top. “Dogamy! Dogaressa!”

The two acknowledged the child, Dogamy holding a hand up, meaning they needed just a second to get some poor fellow out of the rubble. After the tired, red-horned man had been extracted, the two readied themselves for new orders. “Yes, Ambassador Frisk?”

Frisk was somewhat taken aback, if not slightly amused (as a child would be) by the formality. “Oh, uh, yeah. That's right the title. No need for it, guys. You're good.”

Dogaressa's simple nod spoke for both Husband and Wife. “What did you need us for?”

“Me and Pap are gonna head back over to the lab. Can you guys take care of things here?”

'You got it.” Dogamy cracked his neck a bit, stretching before patting his wife on the back and departing. “C'mon hon. Let's go find #1 and #2.”

Papyrus noticed Frisk wincing a little while she grasped her bloody shoulder. “Right then, hop on up, Frisk.”

“It's alright, I can walk.”

“That shoulder's telling me you could use some rest, though.”

The child chortled just a little bit. “I don't think I need my shoulder to walk, Pap.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.” Tired smiles spread across both of their faces as Papyrus crouched down and hooked his arms around Frisks legs as she hopped on his back.

 ________________________________

The lab was mostly quiet. No one spoke or tried to lighten the mood. Words felt both cheap and coarse, no matter what they were. Everyone was too tired in body, mind, and spirit to break the awful silence. Toriel had regained consciousness, but like her husband, she had nearly no strength left to speak of, less so than her beleaguered spouse. At least he could move, albeit very little. Speech was herculean for her, as walking was for him. Undyne was lost both in her tether sickness and her battle fatigue. Sans was in a similar situation. His greeting towards VEGA felt awkward enough, and words felt like a waste of breath, to say nothing of quips or jokes. No one was in any shape to do anything but try and recover. Alphys sat at her desk, the security protocols already in force and on automated routine, leaving her sitting there, silent and listless with only her and Metteton's near death experience to think about. Mettaton had little left but to watch his screen, conduct self repair, and ruminate alongside Alphys

The Doom Slayer looked all around, and with each weary, tear-soaked face he saw, a new crack ruptured through his stone heart. True, he had not failed yet; the Dark Realm had not yet taken the underground, its inhabitants, or the surface denizens. There was still time. Victory was still possible. There was determination in him yet that this fight could be won, but despite this, his hopes were far outweighed by his pessimism and guilt. There was far more here to fuel them.

As much as he felt (or perhaps knew) it would only rip him apart inside all the more, he decided to try and administer to each of his nearly fallen friends. He walked over to Undyne, taking a knee in front of her. Gone was the contrast between her bombastic, voluminous voice against his stoic silence. Now, she too was quiet, and that was what bothered him most. He lifted her chin up so his eyes could meet hers, hoping that perhaps he could bring her smile and ebullience back. Maybe seeing a friend would cheer her up. Maybe she felt alone, as he perpetually did, and she just needed to know a friend was there. To his dismay, all he saw when she looked up at him was more despair; there was fear and anxiousness and sadness where energy, happiness, and rambunctious fervor once were. The worst part was how quiet she was being. She didn't need to say anything to convey her hopelessness. In his mind, he pleaded with her to just _say_ something. _Anything._ Anything that would indicate that there was still some fight left in her. He put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her a bit, mustering up the best worried, but optimistic smile he could. That hopeless look in Undyne's eye did not vanish until she grimaced, shutting her eyes tight, tucking her lips, and lowering her head between her knees.

The smile disappeared from the Marine's face.

Standing up, he found it hard to leave her. He wished he could say something. He wished he could somehow rouse her spirit's pulse. Up to this point she had been so eager to train under his wing. So eager for battle and experience. Perhaps too eager. He knew that yearning for battle had to be tempered, but to have to completely squashed like this, seeing her spirit so utterly broken, left him feeling quite the same.

He then looked over to the King and Queen, one holding the other in his arms while she quietly let tears flow into his shoulder. He remembered the little episode they had shared downstairs. He knew what they were grieving about, and as much as he had striven to bury his memories, that same episode had awoken them, at least enough that he could actually empathize with their situation. He knew what it felt like, perhaps even worse considering that in his case, it was very much his own fault that-

No.

He couldn't bring himself to it. He couldn't bear to stand it. He had come to terms with his guilt. He had taken accountability for it when he began his crusade. Still however, familiarity does not always diminish pain.

In the feverish state of mind his guilt had put him in, he had barely noticed he had come so close to Asgore and Toriel. 

He knelt close to them, trying to give condolence as best he could. His only aim was to let them know they weren't alone in their grief. After a few moments, they both looked up at him to see a pair of concerned eyes through that opaque visor. Silent as he was, they knew what he was trying to say. Neither however, were in any mood for conversation, audible or not. Toriel simply put her head back in Asgore's shoulder to continue sobbing. The old king gently ran his hand over his wife's back, all while maintaining eye contact with the Praetor. The Marine felt more and more uneasy with every passing moment Asgore looked at him. He knew he was trying to say something, but the tiredness in his eyes concealed just enough of his meaning to leave the Praetorian uncomfortably perplexed. Was he angry at him? Did he want something form him? In the midst of this momentary pondering, long and drawn out as it felt, Toriel's subdued voice eked out what both were meaning to say.

"Please.... leave us..."

It wasn't angry. It wasn't accusing. It was just sadness. Grief in it's simple yearning for solitude. He had been bothering them more than he had been a help. Regardless of what they meant, the Doom Slayer could only feel more shame well up within him. He got up, turned around, and saw Mettaton, Alphys, and Sans all looking at him in some way. Mettaton glared out of the corner of his eye. Alphys was turned around in her chair. Sans slouched against a wall, his eyes looking up from his fallen,  downward facing countenance.

VEGA's familiar voice suddenly got the praetor's attention. "Sir..."

He turned to face the AI in his new body, somewhat impressed, but apprehensive at what he would say.

"Let them be." He turned back around to his work. "Just let everyone be."

Everyone's eyes then left him there to himself. He stood alone in that room, his guilt being his only accompaniment. It mattered not what anyone actually meant in their staring. As far as the Praetor saw it, he was the symbol of their woes. Everything that was now making them miserable, everything that had so quickly thrown the world around them into despair, everything that had taken away friends and family, though not caused by him, were symbolized by him. He was an intruder. He was no longer a warrior of justice, but a herald of doom. His presence meant misery. No matter where he would go, people would die around him, and whether or not he deserved the blame, he saw it as his fault.

He walked over to the opposite end of the room, took off his helmet, and sat down in defeat.

And so he would join everyone else. For a long while, things remained quiet.

Then, with a noise that made everyone jump, the doors hissed open, and Papyrus walked in, Frisk clambering down from his back. “Is everyone okay?” Wrought with worry, Papyrus looked all around the room, his eyes meeting hopeless faces and weary gazes.

He didn't need an audible answer to see that no one was okay.

Regardless, his dear friend and mentor didn't hesitate to try and contradict the hopeless mood upon hearing her friend's inquiry. Though tired and fearful, Undyne saw no reason to drag Papyrus down with her. Still, she had to be honest. With a sigh and a hard bought smile, she answered him.

“We're still breathing, buddy.”

Frisk's question then invoked a little bit of hope in all of them, negligible though as they all saw it. “Did you guys get the Siphon?”

Everyone turned about to see the Doom Slayer holding up the jagged, bone-strewn shield.

Papyrus nodded his head. “Alright then. Well, we've gotten what's left of the guard taking care of everyone up top. What's our next step?”

A tired wheeze left Undyne's lips, Papyrus' straightforwardness coming off to her more as blitheness than initiative. “Pap, take a look at us right now. Do we really look like we're in any shape to keep this crap up?”

The skeleton was taken aback at the sound of those words. Undyne, who had always been so headstrong and valiant, so determined, so confident, was now sitting against a wall near a computer desk with forlorn, wet eyes and a broken spirit. “What? What do you mean-”

“Papyrus, dear...” Toriel's voice barely rasped as she garnered whatever strength she had left to speak. “It's good to hear you got everyone out safely, but... we're in no condition to go on any further...”

'What do you mean-”

“Our son is gone...” Asgore interjected to relieve his ailing wife from further exertion, as little as speech would entail. “Hayden knocked him from my grasp and we still don't know where he is.”

“But we've-!”

“I ain't going back in there, little bro.” Sans lacked the joviality he usually possessed. “Not again... I'm done with it, bud. I'm done.”

“Sans, come on!” I know you-”

“You haven't been there!” The diminutive brother snapped at his sibling as he stood up. “You don't know what it's like in there, Pap!”\

“But we can't just give up!” Papyrus' vigor was now not only fueled by determination, but indignation. “We've already made so much progress!”

VEGA, though reeling in a state of emotions he had rarely felt, still knew his own analytical nature. “Statistically speaking, no we haven't. The Hell Invasion is still drawing strength from a source other than the Siphon. I have learned from Doctor Hayden myself that the Siphon venture was only a ruse: He intended to have the Doom Marine retrieve the Siphon so that he could obtain it for himself and unleash the Argent energy supply from within the Crucible, thus negating the damage he did to the Argent filtration system on the Mars installation. Hayden himself is still at large, and Demons are still lying in wait to take the underground. We've gotten nowhere.”

“He has a point.” Mettaton's tired voice of defeat only further aggravated Papyrus. “Hayden nearly killed me and Alphys both. I'll be out of commission for the immediate future.”

Alphys stayed silent, her feeling of self doubt resurfacing and keeping her silenced.

Asgore meekly piped up one last time. “What more can we do? We've lost.....”

That sent Papyrus over the edge.

The skeleton shouted nearly at the top of his lungs, once again making everyone jump. “What **IS** this?! What **HAPPENED** to all of you?! We've pushed them back! We've gotten everyone to safety! **WE STILL HAVE THE UPPER HAND!** ”

Undyne tried to calm her infuriated pupil down, somewhat shocked at his sudden rage. “Pap, calm down! No one said we're giving u-”

“That's **PRECISELY** what everyone's saying!!”

Having been restored to some of her strength, the Queen tried to placate him. “Papyrus, you have to realize that unless you're a parent you'll never know what it feels like to know your child is out there among those things, all while knowing they're not themselves! My little boy is out there, and there's nothing either of us can do about it”

Asgore added to his wife's lamentations. “I don't know of you've ever lost anyone that dear to you Papyrus, but you must realize that-”

“Oh, I realize something alright! I realize that if you don't do anything, he'll be lost forever! And not only him, but **EVERYONE** you people know and love!!” A pause gave way to tense air as everyone processed what he was saying before he continued. “ I can't believe you're all sitting here moping while we could be taking the fight back to them RIG **HT NOW!** ”

Alphys finally spoke up, now with some defensiveness in her voice. “Look at us, Papyrus. Does anyone look like they're in the shape to be fighting?”

VEGA further added to her thoughts. “Doctor Hayden never disclosed to me where the original source of their power is. It is doubtful that he even knows or cares. He has given me Dr. Pierce's codex, but after reviewing it, I can find nothing that will help us locate it.”

“Look, Papyrus....” Mettaton practically spoke for all as his disgruntled, tired words landed on Papyrus' indignant ears. “Honestly, what would you have us do? We're tired. Some of us (including me) are badly injured. You're right, we can't give up, but what on earth could we actually do?!”

He thought for just a moment. It was true, everyone was at the end of their rope, but they couldn't afford to just let the horde overrun them again while they sat and moped. To his own surprise, his thoughts led him to the right answer, fueled by urgency and sheer determination. “We find out where Hayden went and we ask him where this source is, even if it means putting his lights out. From what I hear, you all say he's fled, correct?”

Asgore answered him without delay. “He ran right past me, yes.”

"Then we look on the security footage to see where he went. In the meantime, Alphys, VEGA, you two keep looking at that codex you were talking about. See if there's anything you may have missed, such as patterns in the runes or hidden or alternative meanings, all that jazz. Those of you who are too tired can stay and recuperate while Doomguy can take another team down to track that Cyborg and make him talk! Once we've found what we're looking for, we go there, destroy their power source and finish this! Simple enough?”

There wasn't a single person in the room who wasn't both shocked and put to shame by Papyrus' great burst of rebuking initiative. He was right on all accounts. They couldn;t afford to let despair consume their hearts, lest the enemy come to consume their flesh.

Undyne turned to her armored friend, reproved and somewhat reinvigorated by Papyrus' bravado. “Well, bucko... what do you say?”

The Doom Slayer felt that same, mischievous smile crawl back onto his face. Gone was his rue and self-loathing. Papyrus' determined sermon had given him some invigoration, much needed in the aftermath of Argent and the breach. it was proof to him that there as indeed some fight left in the hearts of the underground. He pointed to Undyne and then to VEGA. He felt reluctant, remembering how she looked like on that floor, eyes trembling with fear and apprehensive grief. Still, as soon as he heard her voice, he knew that although she wasn't back to her former self entirely, she had just enough in her to help, or at least more than most others in the room, save of course for VEGA.

“You really think I can handle it, huh?” the captain smiled a bit as she saw his confident smile radiating out from that opaque visor. She grunted a bit as she got up from the floor, addressing him. 'Well then, I'm glad to know someone's got that kind of opinion about me...”

VEGA was hardly as receptive. “Will I not be needed here to keep things secure and run communications?”

Papyrus put a hand under his chin. "Doomguy, he's right. Alphys will have trouble deciphering that helix stone without VEGA's help. Who's your second choice"

The Praetor thought for just a moment. Who would he take? Sans nearly lost it at Argent, Asgore and Toriel are out of commission for some time to come, and Mettaton was too injured to fight. A few seconds passed before he finally realized that there was indeed someone strong enough, and determined enough to come with him. The first time he considered it, he doubted the young man's fighting spirit. He saw weakness and frailty where battle hardened strength and quick thinking were a necessity. He didn't see that in him any more.

He then pointed to Papyrus.

"Wh-me?! You're being honest?!"

The Slayer nodded his head.

Papyrus stood with mouth agape and eyes wide for a moment or two before snapping out of his astonished excitement. He knew he had made it. He was still shocked over the recent tumult, but he wasn't scared anymore. The Doom slayer had seen it now, and nothing could invigorate him more. "w-well then, _*ahem*_ there's no time to lose! Asgore, Toriel, you two stay here and recuperate. Sans, you said you're throwing in the sponge, right?"

"For now, I guess..."

"Well then you stay here and help in any way you can. You were once part of the faculty here, perhaps either you or Alphys can join VEGA in further deciphering the helix stone while the other takes care of communications with me, Undyne, and Doomguy. Mettaton, you're still capable of taking care of surveillance, right?"

"That I am."

"Good! Let's start immediately! Mettaton, get on that console! Alphys, VEGA, Sans, you prepare communications and start cracking that helix code! Doomguy and Undyne, get all geared up and ready to go! Let's hop to it then, every one! **Go! Go! Go**!"


	16. Unraveling secrets

Yet again, the familiar debarkation procedure rolled along, though this time with a a slight sense of finality. No, this probably wasn't going to be the last time they were going to do this today, as they still had to locate the source of the invasion's power and eventually destroy it. Still, the confidence once displayed by those involved had whittled down to stark sobriety. This was no longer a simple fix, and even though the stakes were always high, the reality of their gravity had now been inexorably emblazoned in everyone's consciousness by way of hard, brutal experience. Now they knew, if only a sliver, of what the Hell Walker knew about the awesome, terrible power that can and would rush forth from the bowels of Hell.

To Undyne and Papyrus' relief, it did not seem that the pits of the underworld was to be their focus for this mission.

Alphys' eyes glinted in focus and stern resolve as she pointed to the image on-screen. “There's his portal. From what our cameras can see on screen, there's hints that he opened it directly to a place known as Kadingir Sanctum. Doomguy, I believe you're familiar with it?”

The Praetorian nodded his head. A look exuding confidence and some smug assurance crept onto his face. He could see the horns of the Bloodied Gate jutting out, shadow set against the cloudy amber sky. The others in the room saw that smile on his face, and knew that perhaps, with a bit of luck, this would indeed start getting easier,.

Papyrus took notice first. “I assume that means yes.”

“Indeed it does.” VEGA's chilled, tranquil voice earned everyone's sudden attention. “That's where we found him, buried in crypt by the far end of the tomb. Dr Hayden and his team set up a portal device to transport him to our home dimension. It would explain why he chose it. He cannot access the tether from this dimension, thus necessitating a way of transport in the form of the Kadingir portal. I would suspect that he's at the Mars Facility as we speak. “

“And that's not all” Alphys' pulled out a UAC datapad and directed everyone's attention thereto. “While you guys were gearing up, me and VEGA figured something out... well, VEGA, mostly... Anyway, we decided that if there is in fact any hidden meanings or patterns in the helix stone, we will need to get to the actual stone itself, kind of like how Doomguy needed to get to the actual stone to find out that Dr Pierce was looking for the crucible. There are some things that a hologram of the stone will not reveal. We need to get our hands on the real deal if we want any answers.”

Undyne was somewhat off-put by the sudden change in objective. “What about Hayden? Weren't we going after him?”

Alphys saw fit to correct her friend. “We were, but for now, he's not our main focus. Whatever he knows, it's going to be on the Helix Stone.”

“And what if he is found?” Everyone turned back to see Toriel, focusing intently on their briefing with tired, but fiery eyes.

Another sound grabbed everyone's attention. The Doom Slayer cracked his knuckles, wearing a grim, fatalistic countenance. Every pop sounded loud and clear, even under the thick armor plating of his gauntlets. Everyone knew what he meant.

“Right then.” VEGA's stoic, seeming calmness stood in stark contrast to everyone else's fraying nerves. “All on the shore party, make final preparations for debarkation. Primary objective is to find and secure helix stone and Bring it back to this plane. Sans, you will maintain communications once me and Alphys start work on the Helix Stone once it has arrived. Just to let you all know, comms will be unavailable once you've entered the UAC base. Our communications can link us between two planes, but not three. You will all be issued several tether nodes that will allow for transport of the stone. They will be available momentarily while I upload their new firmware. Debarkation should begin in approximately fifteen minutes. Dismissed.”

The people huddled around the monitors began to disperse, the shore party to the module and the gear that surrounded it, Mettaton to the security panels, and the King and Queen, though weary, to the downstairs compound to be by themselves. As the Doom Slayer and Papyrus went off to the module station to gear up, Undyne stuck behind, waiting obviously to say something she did not need everyone to hear. She stayed close by Alphys as she attended her computer station, but said nothing, Though the scientist asked her friend what was troubling her, the Doom Slayer seemed to already know what was happening as he stopped picking up shotgun ammo to walk over to where the two stood in awkward silence.

“Undyne, what's wrong?” Alphys' concern was as apparent as the Captain's dismay. “C'mon, you gotta tell me!"

Thinking to herself for a little, Undyne once more spoke up. “Alphys... do you know how many if my men are still standing?”

VEGA intercepted her. “According to Frisk and Papyrus' report. Nine of the twenty-seven guards sent in after the evacuation party have survived. Nearly all those stationed near the main entrance to New Home have been terminated. Out of the forty-three guards sent to guard the lower/minor entrances, the casualty rate was lowest. Thirteen of them have died. Others have remained hidden, and are still emerging. Overall casualty report is over 50%”

Undyne did not have any more time to lament or mourn. She knew the news was not going to be pretty, but regardless, her feelings were not abated. She just stood there, unsure of how to act or react. Her heart screamed for vengeance, but her mind was so boggled by the notion that it kept her every joint locked. it kept her mouth shut. it kept her eyes wide. They were gone. Over half of the men and women she had trained, befriended, led, and loved were dead. Irrevocably, irreversibly dead. it took a good while for words to find her mouth, at which point, both Doom Slayer and scientist were beginning to feel quite uneasy.

“Doomguy...”

The Doom Slayer looked with some concern at his companion, noticing her deadpan, stone stare and the cold fury in her voice. Nevertheless, he silently acknowledged her, nodding his head.

“I know you may have some personal beef with Hayden.... but I want you to know this. When we find him... if we find him...”

The Praetor leaned closer in, knowing what she was going to say, and anticipating it with some dread.

“... I've got dibs on him.”

 _______________________________

The air was just as rank as ever, but still familiar, to two of the party members at least. To Papyrus, it was still strange and repulsive. His previous experience with it in New Home did little to relieve what he felt as he ran and jumped through the chasms and bridges and corridors of Kadingir Sanctum. Still, his footsteps kept pace with the others, at least somewhat. Both he and his old mentor trailed behind the Slayer by several dozen yards, but he was never out of their sight, and that was what was most important. If anything, he was indeed slowing himself down. Full speed would have lost them in seconds. Nevertheless, he had to be quick and so did they. There was no telling just how far ahead Hayden was. Their plan, though thorough, was no wild card. The mere possibility that he was one step ahead of them or more, foiling their plans with every second, gave strength to their urgent footsteps.

At last, the trio came to the old tomb. They were somewhat worried about Hayden having destroyed the portal device, but to their relief, it remained intact. Before the Doom Slayer entered the command on the control panel, Papyrus spoke up, forgetting for a moment about the urgency of their mission.

“Wow...” his eyes floated across the dreary landscape. They had all been moving so fast, he had very little time to take it all in. The demon corpses still bearing perforation from the slayer's gunfire, the rivers of blood that flowed through the dusty, lifeless ditches, the swirling, menacing skies filled with the waning red light of continuous crimson lightning flowing between sigil-emblazoned rocks suspended in the torrid air. All of it seemed to shrink from before him, zooming out while his whole world zoomed in. Part of him was unsure of what he had gotten himself into, and it showed in his voice. “This... this is...”

“Pap?”

“I-It's... “

The Skeleton's feelings began reeling from distraught to flat out terrified. Voices were beginning to creep into his head. Weakling. Pathetic. Disposable. Nothing. Unseen mouth whispered to him from every corner, their hushed voices quickly becoming deafening. Every rock, every crag, every twisted spur of metal shrieked at him Undeserving. Freeloader. Liar.

“I'm not! .. I-I'm not...” His voice croaked in inexorable dread.

“Papyrus!!”

He then felt a heavy, armored hand shake him by the shoulder. The familiarity of the feeling of such a mammoth palm resting on him was enough to let him know who it was. In an instant, all those ghastly voices were gone. This wasn't unlike the incidents at the Necropolis. The Doom Slayer knew, at least to an extent, what was going through Papyrus' mind.

“Pap, come on, bud.” Sympathetic as Undyne was to Papyrus' situation, she saw the urgency that he had briefly forgotten. “Shake it off. This place does that to you. The sooner we get through this portal the better. You gonna be alright?”

“Yeah... yeah I'll be fine. Got kind of caught off guard, I guess.”

As the Slayer went back to start the portal countdown, Undyne went over to her somewhat shaken friend. “Listen bud. I don't know what you saw or heard, but you need to shape up, okay? We can't have you breaking down like this.”

“I know I... I'm just not used to it, I guess.”

“Pap, look at me.” He felt her hand take him by the chin to face up into her hallowed eyes. “You'll never get used to it. Just be glad we're not staying here long.”

“... Understood.”

The Portal began to fluctuate with some unknown, oscillating blue energy that shot out in arcs and waves throughout the room. The Doom Slayer stood in the center, signaling his comrades to join in before it was fully powered.

“Come on. We should get going.”

“Right.”

 ________

“Glad to be out of that dust...” The skeleton continued to shake the rusty orange soot out of his scarf, both him and his companions having gotten in out of the harsh, unforgiving, perpetual dust storms that martian weather so constantly yielded. "Where's our target?”

The doom slayer pulled up a holographic map from his Dossier device. Their first stop was the tram station, then the advanced research facility, then on to the Lazarus labs, where the Helix stone was still stored.

 

The tram ride was silent. Magnetic rails quietly conducting the locomotive forward as the occupants the cabin kept their mouths shut. No blood stained the inside of the tram, and though the ruined Mars base, was by all means an eyesore, the expansive Martian landscape that faced opposite the ruins was an exotic wonder the likes of which neither of the monsters on board had ever seen or dreamed of. The sun could be seen rising above the settling dust clouds, and the red and black canyons and chasms of Mars filled them with exquisite wonder. Both of them stood up to take it all in while the Praetor, more than used to the Martian vista, stayed in his seat, twiddling the bolt of his LMG.

“Wow.... definitely a needed change of scenery, isn't it, Pap?”

“Look at all this.... You think when we get back, we might be able to visit this?”

“Heh. Yeah, maybe someday, Pap... maybe someday...”

She hadn't done a very impressive job at concealing her weariness, and the skeleton picked up on it immediately. “Man, I knew you were a little pooped out after Argent, but this might just be your last trip, Undyne.”

“Ah c'mon pap, whaddya mean?” As much as she tried to resort to denial, nothing could make her forget what she had seen, what she had felt in the past twenty four hours, neither could she hide their effects on her mind and quickly tiring body.

“Undyne... this need to be your last trip.” The Skeleton, though bold in voice and visage, was actually quite terrified to say what he had just said. Telling Undyne, Captain of the Royal guard, to quit? On any other day, it would have sounded like suicide.

'What?” She turned around to see a rather sober look being given her by Papyrus. “C'mon, I'm the strongest, remember? I can tough this out. Besides, we're just getting the Helix Stone, aren't we?”

Her paltry detours and coverups were fooling neither Papyrus or the Doom Slayer, and from both she received a stern, but concerned look.

“After we're done here, you're going to get some rest.”

“But isn't that Doomguy's-” She turned to the Praetor, only to see him nod in accordance.

“Undyne, I know I'm not as experienced as Doomguy or even you for that matter, and that little incident back at the Sanctum was more than enough to convince me, Still, if I've learned anything from it or how you responded, it's that unless we're all like the Doom Slayer, we can't keep this up for long, and that includes you.” He put his hand on her shoulder, seeing that she couldn't bring herself to face him or the Praetorian. “Once we've gotten the helix stone tethered, you're going to rest up.”

“Pap...”

“You know I'm right about this.”

It was so unusual to see Papyrus flowing with such assertion, let alone hear him give such stone advice. Part of her was quite proud of him. Even if she had only ever superficially trained him, there was still a very strong sense of leadership that even now seemed to germinate and grow. The other part of her felt quite humiliated. She wasn't one to easily admit defeat, but now,she was outnumbered two to one.

She sat down, sighed, and admitted defeat.

“Yeah... I suppose you guys are right.”

 _________________________

The carnage in the Lazarus facility was still fresh. The savage cruelty of the UAC cult was made gruesomely clear on every viscera stained wall and entrail soaked floor. Undyne had already seen enough. Dust was shocking, but human bits were so much worse. They stayed after death. Dead eyes still stared. Dead skin still stunk. Dead blood still flowed. Papyrus was glad he heard no voices, but he could swear there was still the same awful dread here, the same unholy, terrible presence. Demons in suspended animation floated in orange vats of some sort of nutritional stew. Though their eyes were closed, their hearts were indeed still beating.

Undyne pulled out a blue spear, readying it to punch through a slumbering baron's chest.“Should we just take care of these guys while we're here?”

The Doom Slayer shook his head and pointed to a central control unit that was linked to all the nutrient tanks. It flashed orange, displaying some sort of warning that no one was close enough to read.

“Looks like it'll just set everything else here off.”

The captain retired her spear. “Looks like you're right... quick and clean it is. Last thing we want to do is alert Hayden. Come on. Let's get to the lab.”

Although Olivia Pierce's private facilities were not nearly so soaked in human guts, they still carried that same air about them. It reeked not of human blood, but of human fear. Living fear. Fear of suffering and pain and hell and all that accompanied it. The place was by no means bloodless. The very same demons the Praetor had felled earlier still lay in caking pools of blood and congealed gore about the lab floor. Stepping carefully around the carcasses, they stood in front of the display panel controlling the Helix Stone repository. The Slayer had hoped his previous work was still in effect when he pressed the commands necessary to open the containment unit. Sure enough, as soon as he gave the command, the doors opened, and the room went aglow with orange light. At this point , everyone had at least seen the stone in some way shape or form, be it in person or in holographic form. Still, for Undyne and papyrus, the terrible majesty of the hellish artifact was doubled once they had seen it for themselves. Each rune, though esoteric to them, seemed to speak to them in subtle whispers, secret knowings distilling on them beyond their capacity to understand. The Doom slayer recalled how he found out about the crucible from it. He could connect with it in a basic way, given its Argent emblazoning. Perhaps he could find out the other secrets therein by himself as well. Still, now wasn't the time to find out. There was no way of knowing how much time there was left until Hayden caught wind of their presence. He tapped his gauntlet, signaling the other two out of their astonishment

'Right then, the tether nodes.” Undyne then opened a compartment in her bracer, revealing an evenly arranged assortment of four white cap shaped nodes, each with a blue center that would light up upon activation. Papyrus followed suit.

“Doomguy, give me a boost will you?” Papyrus request was met with two cupped hands and a squat, launching the skeleton nearly up to the top of the stone, barely sticking his landing while grabbing the ledge of the uppermost stone.

“Alright, let's get these attached. Make sure we get every stone guys.”

Suddenly, a voice over the intercom caught everyone's attention.

“INTRUDER ALERT. LOCKDOWN INITIATED.”

'What the-”

“Doomguy, who was that? I don't like hearing that while all the way up here!”

The second voice made them all freeze in their tracks.

'Well, well, well. Should've known I'd be followed....”


	17. A Cornered Rat

“I've lost over half of my men because of you...”

“And I've lost 61,000 employees, but let's not idly count the cost of progression and advancement. I can see VEGA's lead you here.... and if the CCTV footage is telling me the truth, it seems he's given you access to the tether nodes and the 2.5 program update... I didn't even think we would ever finish it. Most impressive... makes me wonder why he would want the Helix...”

“SHOW YOURSELF!!” The muscles in Undyne's neck were stretched taut, pulling her lips down to reveal gritting teeth. Her remaining pupil shrank to a pinhead. The air of her breath hissed between the gaps in her fangs.

As he attached the last of the nodes, Papyrus looked down to see the Captain practically shaking with barely contained rage. Him and the Doom Slayer exchanged looks, communicating their mutual worry.

“Not likely, I'm afraid. Not unless you have a Crucible and Siphon to deliver to me. I knew you'd come here, what for vengeance or whatever other petty motive you cling to”

The Doom Slayer, in confident defiance, pulled both out from behind him.

His companions' eyes went wide, their mouths slightly agape. Papyrus had more a voice than Undyne, who was silenced by her shock at the prospect of the marine's betrayal. “Doomguy what are you -?!”

The Praetor looked back at his companions. Through his visor, they could see a sly, smug expression, not unlike what they had seen when he had first met them. Though lingering doubts still wavered in their minds, they at least now had a slightly better idea of just what he was up to. The idea waxed in Undyne's head. She eagerly awaited the results of the Doom Slayer's ploy, and in itching anticipation, she materialized a spear in one hand.

The Praetor activated both Crucible and Siphon, and the gray hue of the room was overcome with bloody crimson light. The Crucible's blade, familiar to the two monsters, was soon joined by its companion. The Doom Slayer smiled deviously as the siphon too unleashed its latent power: the small, skull shaped buckler now birthed an Argent red shield, spouting out in a second from every inch of its perimeter. It stood half as tall as its wielder, shrouding part of his silhouette in luminescent scarlet.

The allure of such a prize overrode Hayden's wry coolness. The bait had worked. “So you have them... both of them....”

Papyrus jumped down from the helix stone to land alongside the Doom Slayer. Undyne's visage remained set in stone as she too took up position alongside the Praetor.

“Those belong to me...”

“They NEVER belonged to you!” Undyne's voice rasped out in feral anger. Every syllable Hayden spoke added further tinder to the fire of her building rage.

“They belong to someone who isn't blinded by idiotic idealism.” Venom spewed forth from Hayden's rapidly destabilizing tone. “I will ask you one time and one time only. Give. Them. To. Me.”

The Hell Walker raised his sword arm, palm upward. From his closed hand, his index finger popped up, waggling inward.

The message was clear: Come and get it.

Hayden maintained silence for a few seconds before speaking in low, boiling fury.“If that's the way you want it...”

An alarm sounded throughout the complex.

“.. prepare to entertain some company.”

Roaring and bellowing could be heard echoing from the distant chambers. Everyone knew what it was.

Papyrus' bone clubs formed in his eager hands. “You really think a few of your test tube pets are going to stop us? You've obviously forgotten what all three of us can do, especially Doomguy!”

“Oh I certainly haven't.” nearly drowning out Hayden's voice was the sound of encroaching hellspawn, pounding footsteps and gargling roars shaking the very ground.

Samuel then looked to his right, where a compartment opened up from within the wall. It was an old project he and Olivia had worked on, and as power flowed into its bulky, imposing frame, Hayden nearly wished he had his mouth to smile with once again.

“If anything... consider it a warmup.”

 _________________________

Alphys saw the flashing dialogue on her screen. “Signal's heading in from the nodes. I hope that new firmware works, VEGA.”

“I designed the tether system myself. If anyone was to eliminate the dimensional interference factor, it would be me. Communications issues may be a bit more tricky to iron out, but it'll come in time. For now, we just wait until the Shore Party arrives with the helix stone.”

“You said that would be around five minutes, right?”

“Correct.”

“Okay then.” Alphys' worried conscience struggled to find ease. The prospect of a wait, regardless of duration, brought cold sweat to her brow. “Mettaton, how are we doing on security?”

“I've got the main defense batteries back up and running at full power, darling. Most of the guard is garrisoned around the lesser entrances. The main entrance is well kept by the Overlord system. If anything tries breaking through, it'll be ash before it goes far.”

“Good. We got any word from the surface?”

“#1 and #2 have things taken care of up there. Everyone's still getting their ducks in a row, apparently. Everybody's just waiting for the King and Queen to come back. What few remaining battlemages we have left are keeping themselves busy by concealing the crowd so that we don't attract attention we don't need just yet”

“Alright, sweet. Oh, hey, speaking of the King and Queen, did anyone see where they went off to?”

“They should still be downstairs, darling.”

 __________________________________

“Tori, it's okay....”

“I'm sorry-”

“Shh, shh, you're alright, it's okay-

“I'm so, so sorry, “

“Shhhh, shhhh....”

So many years of separation, begrudging, anger, grief, and estrangement could only come out so many ways. Usually, tears are what accompany such long, pent up emotions' outpouring. Such as it was for the King and Queen. At this point, Asgore had gotten used to the slight wetness on his shoulder, gathered from his Queen's continual, silent weeping. Now it was all exploding out of her, slurring her words between labored gasping and continuous crying. The very essence of her soul had fueled the flames of her anger, and in its exposure, her guilt could be concealed no longer. It echoed throughout the empty room in her shuddering voice. Clawed Asgore's back through her curled fingers. It shook her from head to toe, and every second of it weighed Asgore down like lead.

“I left you... I left everyone alone-”

“You had every right to be mad at me-”

“But not to let everybody live in hopelessness... I'm a failure... I've let everyone down....”

“Tori, everyone was cheering for you. All we wanted was to have you back.”

“Asgore-”

“That's all I've ever wanted.....”

For what felt like hours to her, she just let it all out. Words couldn't adequately convey her shame and rue. Asgore knew the feeling. For just as long, he'd borne his own regrets, and they had just recently reared their ugly faces again in that horrible pit of the Necropolis. He had no feelings of petty anger, nor did he feel that the love of his life deserved to feel this miserable. The tighter she embraced him, the tighter he embraced her back. Her pain was his, in more ways than one. He had always loved her, and neither the steady march of time nor the brusqueness of recent events could wear it away. He told her more than once, whispering it into her ear, hoping to apply love's healing salve to the wounds in her heart. Every time he did, she'd cry harder and harder, the poison of the years painfully draining from her. Healing isn't always soothing, but it certainly is always needed, and at that moment, both Toriel and Asgore desperately needed it.

Her tears finally beginning to subside, Toriel found the strength to use her words again. “What are we going to do, Asgore.... our son... he...”

“We'll find him.” Asgore planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I promise you.... we'll find him yet.”

“But how?'

Asgore's uncertainty and worry were not helped any by the pleading look in Toriel's eyes. “I don't know... but if anything...”

“What?”

“When I found him, I remember him saying... 'I belong here.' Maybe... maybe he's gone back... but I don't know for sure.”

Though still very shaken by her grief, Toriel had gotten back enough of her strength to stand up on her own with little effort. “I think it's time we went up. I know what we have to do.”

“What would that be?”

Toriel looked her husband in the eye with more stern resolve than ever. It took seconds for him to realize what she was implying.

“Tori... are you sure you're strong enough to-”

“Maybe not yet... but I know I won't be going alone.”

 __________________

Sans' fingers restlessly rustled through a thick stack of files, his eyes steadfastly following every line on every page as the escalator took him back down to the first floor. “Hey guys...”

Alphys turned a little from her station. “What is it? What'd you find?”

“Did you ever take a good look at Dr Gaster's notes, Alphys?”

“Yeah, I scoured them top to bottom during the Soul Research Program. Why?”

“Well, the guy was digging into some seriously deep stuff... Like right here, it says something about what a human soul is made up of and possible ways to construct and reconstruct one. It goes over several key elements not found in monster souls-”

“Including DT.” All the memories of that trying time washed back into Alphys' repressed memory. “Yeah, I remember reading through that whole file set when the program started. What's it got to do with what's going on right now?”

'Well, if you remember what he said about the energy needed to actually create a soul from scratch, it's next to impossible, right?”

“Yeah. That's why I opted for the DT infusion theory instead.” Alphys' gaze was noticeably weighed down from the conversation. “You'd need all the magic in the underground for it otherwise, and that would need the soul of every single monster in the underground.”

“Exactly. If someone was able to harness that energy, it would be practically unlimited. You could power the entire surface world for centuries, perhaps even millennia.”

Suddenly, the gears in Alphys' head began turning. “Wait.... Hayden was always going on about the energy crisis in his dimension...”

VEGA's interjection made heads turn. “Which possibly explains why he has gone rogue. Perhaps he plans on harvesting this energy from the souls of Underground citizens.”

Sans' eyes went wide, crested with a shallow scowl. “Do you think he knew the whole time?”

“Actually no...” Regrets immediately began swelling within Alphys' troubled heart. “While the shore party was setting off for the Siphon, I gave him this book detailing monsterkind's history." She held it for a moment, eyeing it over, trying to conceal her regret before putting it down near VEGA's station. "He must have found out there and.... no, wait, it'd still be impossible! If he wanted the energy from our souls, he would have made sure this wouldn't have happened! He'd want us all alive so he could harvest it himself! With the demons here, killing people, that wouldn't be a very plausible course of action.”

“'All souls in the Underground' sounds more like a qualifying, not a quantifying expression.” Everyone turned to see VEGA with his face buried in the selfsame book Hayden had read. “Were it not so, the author of this book, and therefore the ancient lore he cites, would be implying that a single human soul's power would be contingent on the underground's population. Let us also take into account that around the time this lore became a mainstay in monster culture, which the author cites to be around several thousand years ago, the monster population would be somewhat lower. Certainly, despite our losses, the underground would still be able to conjure up the energy needed to equal a human soul. Still, I do see some discrepancies with this 'Dr Gaster's' work.”

Sans flipped back through the files. “What do you mean?”

“At the UAC, we hosted a soul harvest to provide security from Hell Invasions and untethered inter-dimensional activity. Hell would be offered several souls, and so it would be 'placated' to a certain degree. The Argent Fracture, despite having been secured by the Argent Tower Facility, still was capable of being used, to a lesser extent, as a conduit between worlds. Hell's true nature is not well understood, but as we fed it souls, untethered demonic activity lowered.”

Sans set the files down on Alphys' desk. “So what's your point?”

“We know little about what Hell does with these souls, though one theory has been in vogue for as long as we practiced the harvest: Hell uses these souls for energy. We ourselves know little about souls and their nature, but if it were discovered that near infinite amounts of energy could be derived from a single human soul, either Hell or the UAC would have figured it out. There would be no need for either party to pursue argent energy. As soon as Hell would have taken one soul, should it have so much potential energy output, they would practically have no reason to invade other planes.”

“But what about before they had Argent? Surely there would have been a need for energy in consuming an entire plane like that?” Alphys' inquiry swirled in VEGA's mind, as did the other complex pieces of this puzzle.

“This all does sound quite intriguing. We should definitely keep all of this in mind when the Shore party arrives.”

 ___________________________________

“rrrRRAAUGH!”

With a mighty heave of a bone club, Papyrus caved in one last hapless imp's skull, leaving him hunched over its limp carcass, heaving for breath.

“That- gasp – That all you got?!”

“Warmup's over Hayden.” Undyne's voice had chilled down, no longer seething in blind and molten fury, but cold, frigid rage. “You want these, you come out and take them.”

No response.

The Doom Slayer kept his head on a swivel. Hayden was the kind of man who liked to hear himself talk, and when things went awry for him, he wasn't the kind of person who would keep it to himself. Confident as he was should the Cyborg become a problem, he still felt somewhat apprehensive. This was his turf (or at least it was now), and there was no telling just what he'd do. His eyes squinted, scanning every inch of the facility interior, suspicious of every dark corner, door, and vent.

“What's he waiting for?” Papyrus' nervousness was beginning to show on his sweating brow and fidgeting hands. “We only have two more minutes until the tether link is finalized!”

“Interesting question.”

The trio turned around, deliberately circling around the Stone to see a blue light shining through in the dark hallway leading to Olivia's personal office.

“Perhaps I can ask you one of my own?”

Undyne would not even entertain the prospect of conversing with him. Without hesitation, she threw the spear in her hand with all the force her arm could muster. It shot through the air, closing the distance between her and the cyborg in a fraction of a second.

Just as quickly, it was shot down. A bright, white light nearly blinded the trio gathered around the Helix stone.

Hayden's voice was coy and confident. “You'll have to try a little harder than that”

A deep, mechanical sound softly whirred in the air, and then a tremor shook the ground.

“What the-”

“Anyway, on to the question... “

The same mechanical whirring, and once again, the ground rumbled.

“... what are you doing with my Helix Stone.”

Papyrus had become indignant. “Oh, don't think we're not onto you, Hayden!”

The light of Hayden's optic slowly grew nearer. The rumbling intensified. The whirring was closer.

“We know you were playing us as fools! The Siphon wasn't what's powering their invasion! You knew it all along! When we took it, they still kept coming!”

“Excuse me?”

The ground was now flat out shaking. Hayden's figure was beginning to come into the light, and it was quickly becoming apparent as to what was going on.

“Pap, wait a in-”

“You owe us answers, Doctor! You know where the-.... real... source...”

The Cyborg stepped all the way out into the light, and now, all in the shore party could see the new, terrible form he had taken. Attached firmly to his body was a new frame, titanic in size, and clad in imposing, seemingly impenetrable armor. A harness seemed bolted or fastened in some way to his torso, with hydraulic pistons connecting the harness' heavy frame to its counterparts on his limbs. The exoskeleton's shoulder went above Hayden's head, loaded with rocket batteries. The arms bristled at the wrist with various machine guns; a tri-barreled Gatling weapon on the bottom, three GPMG barrels above it, and a single autocannon on top. As he walked closer, the barrels on the Gatling guns began to spin, their gears audibly turning inside the imposing armor.

“...is.”

“If the Siphon was not the source, I would have known.... Oh, I see. So you think the Helix will give you answers?”

Gritting her teeth, Undyne set a spear in both hands, her eye unblinking and staring daggers at Hayden, righteous anger filling her to overflowing. The Doom Slayer readied his old weapons, shield guarding his front with his sword arm poised to strike. Though quite frightened, Papyrus stood boldly, surrounding himself with bones and blasters.

“Whether it will or not... you won't be alive to receive them.”

Then he opened fire

Almost before the muzzles of his weapons gave their report, the Doom Slayer had rushed to the forefront, raising the Siphon in front of him. Hayden's relentless fire bore down on him mercilessly, pushing him back just a little. That bought his allies just enough time to flank. The Cyborg saw them. A mere fraction of a second, and they had rushed to his left and right with respective arms cocked behind their heads. Very little time to think. Cease fire. Assume solid stance to keep balance. Swing arms outward to the sides and swat them away.

Right before their strokes fell onto his head, they both felt a tremendous force knock the wind out of them, forcing them airborne on their trajectory. They flew behind the cyborg. Both tried to get up, knowing Hayden was upon them. They could hear the sound of cartridges being loaded into battery as his heavy steel footsteps heralded his about face

Suddenly, a flash of crimson red, and the Cyborg turned to see the Doom Slayer stampeding towards him with shield arm concealing his visage. Hayden crossed his arms in self defense, but ti wasn't enough to slow the Praetor's inhuman momentum. The two ton mass of his new body crashed with a deafening sound that reverberated throughout the chamber as the Doom Slayer slammed into him with his shield, toppling over him a little before regaining his footing. Attempting to recover, everything around him had went awash in scarlet as the Marine prepared his coup de grace, brandishing his weapon over the downed Cyborg.

Before his stroke fell, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his gut. The world spun over and under him before he felt his back nearly crumple as he came to an abrupt stop, his ears ringing with the accompanying gong of the steel bulwark smacking against his armor. he had hit the far wall having barely missed the helix  stone. Hayden had kicked him with all that powerful pneumatic force, and as he fell limply to the ground, the CEO turned with confidence to his other, lesser foes.

He soon learned they had more tacticum than he had thought. Papyrus jumped behind him while Undyne continued to charge him. In the split second process of his mechanically enhanced mind, he did his best to counter their simultaneous attacks.

A spear hurling towards your face. Swat it aside. Raise arm and crush opponent. No. Skeleton is attacking. Reach behind. Extend enhanced digits. Grab his club. crush it. Another attack in front.Fist this time. Catch it. Crush the hand- wait, no. Skeleton is attacking again. He got his arms wrapped around you and he's holding another bone, blue this time. Shake him off. that bone's cutting deeper into you the more you move. Captain has kicked at left hydraulic joint and it's leaking. You're still holding onto her, Wrench her down. Taking serious thoracic damage. Right knee is crippled. About to go down. Captain's broke free. Punching cranial unit. Grab skeleton, throw him over shoulder. Too late, he's let go. Grab Captain's fist again. Pull her in and headbutt her. Cannot. Going down, Skeleton has kicked in crippled knee. Sustaining serious damage: Captain just kicked at head. Recoiling. Skeleton is attacking: bone club to back of head. sustaining critical damage. Neural implants failing. Enhanced computing processes failing. Left appendicular hydraulic system failing. Optic system taking critical damage

The voices in his head drove him into a mad frenzy. Hayden Grabbed Papyrus by his scarf and flung him over his shoulder, slamming him into Undyne and launching them both several meters, nearly into Olivia's personal office. barely recovering, they saw telltale red dots training on them. Before they met their mark, Papyrus materialized his blasters, firing repeatedly at the cyborg in a deafening volley of blinding white light. Samuel tried to guard himself with his arms, crossing them in front of him. As the noise in the room subsided, the noise in his head only intensified.

Upper appendicular systems have taken critical damage.

Temperatures at 700 degrees Fahrenheit.

Frontal exoskeleton compromised.

Appendicular weapon systems compromised.

Targeting systems compromised.

Hydraulic systems in critical condition

The cyborg uncrossed his arms and saw the damage for himself through his now cracked optic. His arms, though still movable, were terribly warped from the heat of the blasts. The steel on his exposed joints was blue and low red, baking the air around them. Hayden then looked at his enemies. both Undyne and Papyrus had begun to charge him anew.

Unfettered anger, the likes of which he had never felt before, boiled in his burning head.

'Enough..."

He readied his rocket batteries.

"ENOUGH!"

Before he could line up his shots however, he heard a loud explosion followed by a split second hiss. He knew who and what it was. Before it could hit him, he opted to fire on the monsters, but it was too late. The Doom Slayer's rocket hit him on the back, making him arch upward, sending his rockets to the ceiling. The blasts shook some of the steel plating therefrom, and as they fell in thunderous clangs and crashes upon the floor, one of them bisected what was left of his right arm. He screamed, not in pain, but in rage while the monsters closed their distance. He swung his remaining arm to swat them away, but they ducked and slid under him, and his melted nub of a hand planted itself into the wall in an ear-splitting twang, the metal in the wall giving sharp protest. Suddenly, that arm was gone too as deep red light filled the corridor and effortlessly lopped it off before its wielder's boot sent him to the floor in humiliating defeat.

Undyne's lips were contested between smiling and frowning. Her anger argued with her satisfaction as she loomed over the doomed Cyborg. papyrus, seeing her barely contained fervor, tried to stop her in her tracks with a gentle hand on her shoulder. She roughly pushed it aside, materializing one last spear.

 

She clenched it in anticipation as she stooped over Hayden, who slowly lifted his crumpled visage from the blackened floor.. “Have anything to say for yourself?”

“....go to Hell.”

The Captain bared her teeth in combined anger and satisfaction. “You first...”

She stood up and readied her spear, holding it above her head.

Then, blue arcs of tether energy swathed her and her compatriots.

Knowing what was happening, she hurriedly thrust her weapon down, closing her eyes for sake of strain.

She then opened them, and looked down to see that it was stuck firmly in the ground of the lab compound.


	18. The Stone and the Icon

All was quiet, but not calm. The room was silent, but Hayden had not stopped hearing the voices, all like schizophrenic nightmares, warning him of his grave injuries. Both arms severed. Optic unit in critical condition. Enhanced computing matrix malfunctioning, now cordoned off from cortex remnants. Exoskeleton motor function destabilizing. Thoracic weapon batteries depleted. Appendicular weapon systems compromised. On and on the damage reports kept flooding in, maddening him ever further with their grating voices, scratching like nails to the chalk of his burning mind. So distracted by his rage, so sickened by sheer frustration, Hayden took a few moments to regain his bearings, trying to retake control of the situation.

“... shut down all notification systems.”

The voices complied, and Hayden was left to himself.

“Discard powered exoskeletal augmentation system.”

With a loud hiss and many gusts of compressed air, each ruined part of the once imposing frame fell off of what was left of its wearer, each melted part landing on the metal ground in a low thud that echoed slightly throughout the empty room. There, the Cyborg lay in defeat, No arms, a cracked optic, an indented cranial unit, and legs whose hydraulic pistons were only barely functional enough to support the Cyborg's three meter frame. Panels all over his body had been warped from heat. Sparks flew from damaged circuitry in his chassis, flying out through various small fissures as several of the components forming his thorax had been partially separated.

He had lost this fight. He had lost and his enemies had proven their strength.

He had so little now. The Mars base was gone. Argent was gone. The Doom Marine was now openly hostile. The energy crisis on earth would inevitably return with a vengeance, and as if sixty one thousand people wasn't bad enough, it was hard to imagine the billions that would die in the years to come, only this time, it wouldn't be for the cost of progress. Their deaths would not serve a higher purpose. There had to be something he could do.

Realizations lit up like candles in pitch within his mind. His plan would not go unhindered.

 

As the Lazarus elevator quickly rose up from the depths of the compound, he remembered his probes. Those idiots would be back in Hell soon enough. He'd soon know where they were and what they were up to.

The key now, was simply to wait. Wait until they had come into his sights.

___________________

“I HAD HIM!!”

Toriel had regained the better part of her strength, hoping it was enough to abate the fire in Undyne's heart.“Undyne, please! You have to calm down, we have the-”

“I **WON'T** calm down!” vengeful grief and near rabid anger poured out of Undyne's every raspy word. It quivered her jaw and soaked her face in tears. She half sobbed, half screamed as she spoke, and few in the room knew what to do to curtail her worsening emotional state as she crushed the walls in bouts of rage with her flying fists. “He was right there... **HE WAS RIGHT THERE AND I WAS SO CLOSE AND HE-!”**

Then, she felt a sudden, powerful jerk pull her backwards by the collar, nearly toppling her as it yanked her faster than her feet could adjust to the sudden imbalance, making her stumble a bit before refocusing her attention on her handler. It was the Doom Slayer, holding her yet again by her collar armor. Once more, he wore a stern expression, scolding her without any words.

This time around, Undyne was twice as defiant and not nearly half as noble. “Get OFF ME!” She shrieked as she tried batting his arm away to no avail. He was steadfast as stone. His tenacity only further enraged the crestfallen warrior

“What? **WHAT?!** **WHAT** **do you** _**WANT?!”**_  Her desperate inquisition began to drown out her rage, and her sorrow began to show more and more through the surface as her scowl slowly began to upend itself.

Still nothing. He knew what she was feeling. He too had felt it before, ravaging him from the inside out like a virile poison. It gave strength to his sword arm on that fateful day, but that was about the full extent of its benefits. He couldn't let Undyne undo herself like this, and so still, he stared daggers into her, trying to get through to her aching heart and clouded mind.

It still hadn't gotten though. “Quit looking at me like that..... Just SAY something already!!”

The Praetorian remained silent.

Slowly but surely, she began to understand the silent words in his stone brow and steady gaze

This isn't getting you anywhere.

“I have to go back.. “ The Captain's voice grew more and more shaky with each troubled syllable leaving her aching throat. “I have to-”

The Doom Slayer's brow lowered just a little, his pupils dilating somewhat.

You're not going anywhere.

“Please....”

No.

The Marine slackened his grip a little, setting his other hand on her shoulder, ready to catch her form her inevitable fall into his arms.

You need to rest, and you need to rest now.

Undyne gave no more resistance, and as she fell into her friend's shoulder, the thick underlying padding beneath his armor muffled her quiet, haggard sobbing. He turned to Papyrus and Alphys, nodding a little. The skeleton took the cue as the Praetor gently passed the careworn warrior to her friends, Frisk looking on and silently following them upstairs. They'd know better than him what to do for her. She needed to recover, and while he wished there was something more he could do, his rational mind knew that time would not allow it. He considered her to be a friend, but he hadn't known her as long as the others did. They'd know how to make things right better than him.

He then turned his attention to the obvious elephant in the room.

There it stood, hovering as it were, radiating orange arcs of argent energy and filling the room with its ominous luminescence. At first silence had ensued as Undyne had been dismissed. Now it only persisted out of a combination of fear, awe, wonder, and reverence.

Mettaton's curiosity opened his mouth. “So.. how exactly are we going to find the answers we need from this?”

VEGA was quick to respond. “The same way we found out about the Crucible's position: from the Doom Marine.”

The Scourge stood with arms akimbo, staring into the many runes on the great stone's surface. He remembered the feeling, the screaming hallucinations brought on by contact with the artifact. As to how Hayden and VEGA were able to extrapolate the artifact's location, he did not know, but perhaps he was about to get some answers.

“When we set out to find Dr Pierce's objective, we knew only one thing; that the Doom Marine would be capable of deciphering things our decoder keys could not. When we first had him touch the stone, the immediate result was a full map of the Necropolis, seemingly erupting from the contact point between his fingers and the stone. Now that he has both the Crucible and the Siphon, we might just get a different response from the stone. It was made practically as a guide to the use of Argent energy, and I'm certain it can tell us how the Siphon was used to bait us from the real source of the invasion's power.”

“How do we know this will work?”Sans scratched his head, not sure just how much of this was solid fact and how much was conjecture. “Sounds like a lot of guesswork and hopeful outcomes to me.”

“We've seen it at work before. The ties between the Doom Slayer and Argent are what enabled both his reading of it and the projection. The Siphon and the Crucible are just as close to Argent's legacy. They too should play a part in how we figure this out. Sir, if you would step up to the Helix Stone?”

These loud, headache inducing trips were always a rush. With every connection to Argent reactivated, more and more hidden and repressed memories would surface. He braced himself mentally for the shock as he stepped deliberately towards the floating stones, staring intently at their many runes, all glowing with that familiar burning orange hue. He held both of his old weapons at either side, activating them, dividing the room between the orange of the stone and the scarlet of the sword and shield.

He stretched out his arm, and a sharp current took him.The world around him was taken away in an instant and replaced by the familiar crimsons and bright orange and yellow flashes of hellfire. It spun around him in erratic circles, shapes distorted by movement, voices blurred by their constant passing. He saw the Siphon, still in its old Pedestal in the Necropolis. A bright light began to emanate from its edges, and in seconds, that light flashed to near blinding. An Argent shockwave rocked the necropolis, incinerating many of the demons that called it home. Suddenly, the world grew smaller as the Siphon and its containment flew out of view. The Praetor could feel his guts sinking to the bottom of his bowels as he felt himself lifted up to the gray skies of Hell. Suddenly, he could make out something. It was like a line, a sort of connection between the Siphon's location and somewhere far, far off into the distance. All was a blur as he was rushed to its origin point, and soon enough, he came face to face with something terrible and familiar. It bore two white, lifeless eyes. A bloody pentagram adorned its forehead. Long, jagged horns sprouted from either side of its ominous caprine head. The sight filled the Doom Slayer with a long-buried rage. He knew why it was there. He knew what it symbolized. He knew who it once was. His blood boiled and his teeth gritted as he saw the desolate citadel upon which the Icon sat. The thread linking to the Necropolis lead straight into it.

Then, all went suddenly quiet as the world came back, flooding into his vision like water from a broken dam.

“The Icon of Sin.... this is going to be... interesting.”

“So that's what that was huh? That.. skull...”

VEGA and Toriel's voices were crisper and clearer than the Scourge was anticipating. This was much longer of a trip than he normally underwent, and he hadn't expected to fully retain his senses. Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now it was time to listen.

“We've been postulating the source of Hell's collective power for years. I never thought we'd finally find it.”

“What did we just see?” Everyone turned as Asgore spoke, his tone earnest and serious as ever. “Is that the source of their power?”

“I'll be honest in saying this is our only real lead. The UAC has been researching the center of Hell's power for years, but the Argent fracture and research dedicated strictly to Argent overthrew any other ventures. This is the first we've actually seen of it.”

“Will our son be there?” Worry saturated Toriel's every word. “Will we find him on the way?”

“I'm sure of it.”

The Praetor turned towards the queen, confused somewhat, wondering what she was talking about. What made her think her son was going to be there, of all places?

She noticed his curious gaze. “Oh, that's right, you weren't here when we went over it. Mettaton, if you would, dear?”

“Yes, your highness..” He waved at the Hunter, gesturing him to come and take a look at the monitors.

The Doom Slayer saw the ruins of new home, and just what had been happening while he and his party were at Argent. Mettaton tried fast forwarding through most of it, but it didn't keep the Hell Walker from seeing a glimpse of the breach, as well as Asgore's fiery breakdown. A tinge of regret left a slight pang of sorrow in his heart. Before it could swell any further however, the footage returned to normal speed just in time to see a small Flower hopping into the portal to the necropolis.

“There he is.” The Scourge nearly jumped, having not noticed that Toriel had crept up to them. “That's him right there...” Her voice was rife with maternal concern.

Asgore then called out to the Praetor. “I'm hoping you can infer what this means about who you're bringing with you....”

He needed no hand holding. He knew the King and Queen were set on coming with him. Yet again he was stuck between his concern for their well being and his obligation to let them be in charge of their fate. As much as he wanted to fight it, something in his gut told him he had no say in the matter at any rate. He knew a parent's pain at the loss of a child. In fact, only a few moments ago, he had felt anew that same sense of-

No, no, no. Don't.

If he let himself ruminate on such matters he would lose himself. All these many years he had his grief buried under his fury so that his duty, his obligation, his mission, could continue unhindered. That mission was still underway, only now, there were yet more objectives, and they affected more than just his own personal quest. He had to focus, especially if he was to keep the weakened monarchs alive.

He hadn't realized he was spacing off.

“Hey, earth to Doomguy!”

He turned towards the sound of Sans' voice. “I was about to say, you were dead to the world for a minute there, bud. That little helix stunt got you messed up?”

He shook his head a little and waved it off.

“You should all get ready for insertion.” The trio turned to VEGA as he began his final brief. “I would advise the King and Queen to ensure their capacity to carry out this task.”

“We're old, but we're not decrepit, dear.” Fireballs swirled about in Toriel's hand.

“I'm aware. Just realize that the recent breach event has-”

He was interrupted by the sound of the butt of Asgore's trident hitting the ground. “Believe me, VEGA. We have our incentive. We'll be able to hold our own”

“I understand. That being said, I would opt for more than just the two of you to accompany him. I myself will no longer be needed here.” He then turned to the Doom Slayer. “If I may, I would request to accompany you on this mission. This will allow for the King and Queen to secure their son while we continue the mission.”

“How are we gonna monitor them?” Sans' inquiry drew some perplexed looks from all but VEGA.

“We already have working probes in the Necropolis. These probes are capable of following a certain target, and I can program them to do so once they have line of sight with the shore party.”

"And what of the Helix?" asked Toriel.

Sans drew close to the hovering obelisk. "I'll take care of it. Getting it downstairs won't be hard. It should fit in the elevator power room."

All turned to him, including Alphys "What? how are you gonna-?"

By the time every eye caught onto him, both he and the Helix were gone. Stupefied silence prevailed over the compound until they heard him again.

"Done and done." He was in the corner, leaning into it and letting his eyelids close.

Asgore hefted his trident in both hands. ”We should get started immediately. We don't know how much time is left.”

“Agreed. Sans will oversee communications. Before we debark I will make sure to send the proper commands to our remaining probes in the Necropolis. I will only need a moment to arm myself and prepare.”

Toriel took a deep breath. She knew the experience would be jarring, and she knew no matter how much she steeled herself, her first footsteps into Hell would not be a pleasant walk in the garden. 'Then let us make haste... the anticipation is eating at me.”

 

Upstairs, Undyne sat on the bed, surrounded by her friends, lamenting her circumstance. As she heard the conversation downstairs, she lifted her head from its sunken, saddened position between her legs “They're leaving... I have to go...”

“Undyne, it's okay.” Alphys did her best to try and console her, tip-toeing to reach into her hair, trying to get her to look into her eyes. “Don't be so hard on yourself.”

'I can't fail them like this-”

“You're not failing them!” She turned to see a familiar, smiling, skeletal face. “You haven't failed any of us!”

“Pap-”

"None of us think you're a failure, Undyne. You've done a lot for us..." Frisk's voice visibly added more to Undyne's distress than she would have hoped

"I wasn't talking about failing you guys... I've failed them..."

Alphys' hopes of consoling her friend were quickly vanishing. "Who?"

"They're dead..." It didn't take much time for everyone to put two and two together. "I wasn't there to help..."

"Undyne, there was nothing you could do abou-"

 **"Yes there was!!"** Her sobbing started anew as those words left her lips. I could've been here, I could have helped, I could have fended them off-"

Papyrus couldn't bear to see her beating herself up like this. "Undyne, I was there. Trust me, there was little you could do... we would have lost you-"

 _ **"You don't know that!"**_ Anger began to mingle afresh with her sorrow. As it returned, so did the subject of her hatred. "Hayden.... he did this... he did this to them...."

Alphys jumped up on the bed next to her friend, opposite Papyrus. "It's okay, just calm down...."

"I can't... I had him, Alphys. I had him right there."

"It wouldn't bring them back-"

"It's not **about** bringing anyone back!!" Undyne was becoming increasingly frustrated with her friends' seeming lack of understanding. "They deserve to be avenged... Hayden did this to them. He shut the gates off and let those things in and now over half of my men are **DEAD!** I can't bring them back, no-"

Frisk put a hand on her knee, looking up at her, hoping to soften her heart. "Undyne..."

"But I can make him pay...." Tears continued flowing down her quivering cheeks, prevailing over her by the second as her speech slurred further and her head bowed lower. "I'll make him pay.... I'll-"

"Undyne..."

"What...?" She looked down to see Frisk's pleading face. "Frisk, come on, please just say somethi-"

She was cut off as the child jumped up, sat in her lap, and wrapped her arms around the weary warrior.

"I don't have to."

As she felt Alphys and Papyrus' arms join in, she knew what she meant. She held her own arms out and returned everyone's embrace, holding her friends as close to her as she could. She needed their help, at least for now. She was tired. She was tired in body, mind and spirit and everyone in the room knew it. Her labored sobbing slowly began to subside as she felt their warmth surround her, and as their hands ran up and down her back and their faces buried themselves into her shoulders and bosom, she realized that despite her loss, the world had not ended yet. There were still people who loved her. The Cyborg had not taken everything away yet, and he'd get his just desserts soon enough. No, not everything was right with the world, but enough was right that she could feel consolation.

Then, she sat up as she heard the compound doors open and shut. The shore party had left. Upon hearing their departure, she sighed a bit, both in residual regret and some apprehension of what would become of them, especially with her old mentor, friend, and king.

“Don't worry.” Frisk sat on her lap, looking up at her. “They'll be back. Just like always.”

“Yeah..... I know they will.”


	19. A Familiar Face

The dry, hot wind rushed all around him. Through his closed eyelids, murky shades of blood red seeped into his vision. In the distance, he could hear the faint echoes of the hopeless screams of the damned. He shared their fate, yet remained silent. Wishing for sleep. Wishing for oblivion. He felt no regrets for his many crimes, yet this remorselessness, in and of itself, bore into him more than he thought guilt ever could. It wasn't the feeling of culpability, but the feeling of disgust, that cemented him into the dusty, stony ground. He knew his sins alone warranted his tenure here, but more so did his very being. He was a monstrosity. An incomplete sham of a person. He was less than a monster. He was less than a human. He was a freak. An abomination. An aberration fit only to be tossed into the fire. He was nothing. Perhaps, even less than nothing. This stark realization did a far better job at filling his eyes with tears than anything else.

And then he heard footsteps. Footsteps that did not carry the grunting and snarling of prowling demons.

He had been alone up until this point. No demon had taken interest in him, as he hoped would happen. He didn't want to fight. Not anymore. It had left him a while ago. Gone was his bloodlust, as it was now replaced by self-loathing and hopelessness. He just wanted it to end. He hoped in vain that whatever was walking nearby would do what the hellspawn had neglected to do. As they passed him by, treading a walkway below his vantage point, he nearly broke into tears. Not again. They were refusing him again. This couldn't be happening. Frustration mingled with his despair. Agonized thoughts spun in a terrible dervish in his mind. "Will nothing save me from this? Will no one look upon me and finish this?"

In this desperation, Flowey uprooted himself and scrambled to the edge of his lookout. Who and what were they?

He wasn't prepared for what he saw.

 

His eyes shot open as he saw none other than his Mother and Father, jogging briskly towards an unknown destination.

His mind began reeling. How were they here? Were they looking for him? It certainly had something to do with that spectacle in New Home. Somehow, this had to do with stopping the hellspawn, but what? And why, why did it have to be here? The thoughts of rescue both sickened and terrified Flowey. Those two could save their pity. He didn't need it. He didn't want it. He was beyond saving. The son they seemed to search for was long dead.

Then, he saw that strange man again, wearing that green armor, holding that shotgun.

Who was he? And who was that robot following him? It looked like that walking Junk heap the Lizard created to some extent, but stripped down. Any and all cosmetics had been removed, as had most of its paint. A blue heart, rather than a pink, hovered in its abdomen

Curiosity temporarily stifled Flowey's tumultuous feelings, and as the four began to wane out of sight, he burrowed down into the gravel, carefully trailing behind them.

Despite only having been in the Necropolis for a few minutes, Toriel's nerves were already beginning to fray. Every facet of the austere landscape seemed to scream death, and fear that she might have already lost her son petrified her. “VEGA... you're sure he's here right?”

Asgore did his best to abate her fears. “Tori, we've only been here for a little while. I promise you, we'll find him-”

“Gorey, look at this place...” Fear was rapidly mounting in her with every step further into the bowels of Hell. Here was strewn bone upon bone, corpse upon bloody, rotten corpse. The air stank, and foul slough bubbled in rancid pools surrounding the dead flesh. “It's sickening. It reeks of death here... I... I don't know if we-”

She felt a heavy but gentle hand land on her shoulder and turned to see the Praetor looking at her with concerned eyes, trying his best, in his own, silent way to console her. He had grown quite sickened of watching them all squirm like this as they made their first trip.

None had noticed that VEGA had taken the lead. “He should not be too far off. I estimate, based on our last sighting, that we may find him within the hour, if not sooner. As for the Main power source, it may take us a considerable amount of time to eventually reach it.”

“Tell me, VEGA...” Asgore had learned to a certain extent how to drown hell's screaming out. Still conversation would be needed to drown out what little could still be heard. “How exactly does this thing work? What's with all the... corpses surrounding it?”

“These are not only demonic remains, but remains from other realms that Hell has conquered. The Great Steppe has been an area of interest for years, but as I said, it all took a backseat to Argent. What little we know derives from records extracted from Hell. The sum total of all their conquests, save Argent, lie here, and so does the power they once wielded.”

“So we know what this place means for us, but what about you? I remember Dr. Hayden talking about an energy crisis in your home plane.”

“And he wasn't lying...” The clinical tone in VEGA's words wavered with trepidation. “It's going to be a hard way home... but hopefully, if my postulations are indeed correct, this place may harbor just enough energy to adequately replace Argent. It's a stretch, as we haven't dedicated as much time here, but I'm confident that this place can give us a good start in the right direction, if nothing else.”

Suddenly, a noise of crumbling, falling rock overhead. Small, but not small enough to have only been moved by the wind. They were not alone. Realizing this, everyone assumed fighting positions, but with slow, deliberating caution. As they inched forward, the Doom Slayer could not help but feel a familiar presence. He knew someone other than VEGA and the Monsters here. The presence was familiar, eerie, and subtle. Something about this particular place looked inhabited by him: bones were arranged unnaturally in a symmetric array all around them, which narrowed down into a walkway, leading into some sort of inhabitance marked by a series of large ribs arranged in a makeshift, but solid shelter.

The Doom Slayer was not the only one catching onto the artifice. “This looks like no demon's work...” Toriel's eyes darted to and fro, expecting some sort of ambush. Her heart raced all the more with every step. “Sans, do you detect anything from up there? Are the Probes picking anything up? Anything we should know about?”

“Nothin' you guys don't already see...” The Skeleton's scrutiny yielded no particularly extraordinary observations. “I mean, I see the little bone hut, I see the walkway, I see... wait...”

“What is it?”

“Uhh, VEGA? Did your guys never bother to look this part over?”

“I will reiterate that this was not the UAC's main focus. Why? Do you see-?”

“I'm seeing equipment...”

“Equipment?” A quizzical looked spread on Asgore's face. “What do you mean?”

The Doom Slayer's eyes widened. He began to realize just who might be here.

“I mean stuff that looks way familiar. Stuff like a makeshift DT extractor matrix, a perfect, and I mean perfect copy of the timeline anomaly detector....”

The King froze. “You don't mean....”

VEGA felt somewhat confused, if not concerned. “We were not aware of anything functional here not already scrapped or put to other uses by the demons. What does this insinuate?” Multiple variables came and went as VEGA tried to process the information. Were the monsters holding something back?

“I see a bunch of junk laying around and.... No way....”

“No way what?!” Toriel's paranoia had begun to eat her alive, and fire was nearly erupting from her shaking hands.

The Doom Slayer's head was on a swivel as he took initiative and advanced into the little abode. It couldn't be. It couldn't be him. There was no way he'd have survived after Hell knew what he had done to assist him. They should have killed him eons ago...

“Didn't know I'd be seeing so many familiar faces....”

The King, The Queen, and the Praetorian froze.

They all knew that voice.

Vega on the other hand, did not, nor did he understand its esoteric, alien, nigh incomprehensible dialect. “What was that? Is this someone you all-?”

“Ah, forgive me....” A low, gentle voice emanated from one of the shadows. Darkness hiding somewhere in the bones began to coalesce, taking solid form as it formed a dark, miry apex before the group's very eyes. “it has been a very long time since I entertained company.”

Alphys heard the conversation from her end of the room as she had conversed with Mettaton, leaving him for but a moment to check in on the sudden commotion. “Sans, who is it? What'd I mi- GASP!”

No one spoke as the darkness took form. Hands with palms cut out materialized out of the black muck. A white head peeked out, adorned with two black eyes, one with its socket seemingly caved in from the top. A misshapen, dark mouth crawled into a smile on the creature's face.

Everyone just stood still for a while. Sans said nothing, Alphys said nothing. The King and Queen and VEGA said nothing.

Then, after an eternal pause, the Queen found her voice.

“Doctor Gaster?!”

The Praetorian raised an inquisitive brow. Doctor Gaster? So that's his name.... all of Hell knows him by a title, an epithet. He knew him not even by any of these. But now, he had a name. Doctor Gaster...

The foreboding monster chuckled a little. “Yes, the one and only...” he then turned his attention to the Doom Slayer. “Ahh, yes, here's a face I haven't seen a quite a while... legions of them wail in utter defeat, and their cries fill my ears by night... I assume you have done it? You have freed the wraiths? I do not see Argent's crimson stream flowing here any longer.”

The Scourge proudly pulled out both sword and shield, raising the former to the sky and holding the latter close to his bosom. The gray world around him was washed once more by their crimson glow. His accompaniment stared in awe.

“Doctor Gaster, you...” Asgore fought his filled mind to find words. “But how did you end up.... how do you know-?”

“I overheard some of your conversation with you Automaton friend. Indeed, he and his master were correct – this place serves as the collective grave for all of Hell's prey. Their False Idols Banished to a wasteland, Their towers fallen, their foundations ground to dust-”

“Their hallowed halls kept empty as cruel reminders-”

The AI and the old Doctor then recited the rest in unison. “...that civilizations shall fall before the ascension of the great ones.”

Gaster nodded approvingly at the Robot's knowing. “So it was your masters who took the Corrax Tablets from their resting place at Kalazzab...”

“It was.” VEGA was suspicious, but he couldn't let it show superficially. “If the Slayer's testaments are to be trusted, and the display from the Doom Marine means what I think it means-”

“Yes, it is true.” Sobriety and stoicism oozed from the Doctor's words. “I am he whom the inhabitants of this world call, The Wretch.... and I know what you're here for, or at least, I know what the Doom Slayer is here for... don't I, old friend?”

The Praetor lowered his arms and nodded.

“And as for you, O King.... If I may make assumptions, I would say you're on the verge of breaking us out of our prison, ere you would not seek such depths, to crawl out from under them and rise to some new paradise...”

“It has already been done.” The King replied to his old scientist with dignity and visible triumph. “A human child wandered into our midst and helped free us.”

“But how? I know you well, O king. You would not have been so glad to bring your old vow to consummation...”

“I never had to. I cannot tell you all the details. Those are known only to the child.... Frisk.”

“I see...” The Doctor then turned to Toriel. “I also see that our beloved queen has returned!”

Toriel was somewhat shy of words at the moment. “I have... hiding in the shadows did not do me any favors after all these years, nor has it helped our people, especially now that we're under siege.”

“Under siege? I don't presume the humans would-... ah, I see now.” Grave realizations came to Gaster as he envisioned his old home in flames. “They, the Great Ones, have come for us too.... You are here to stop them then?”

VEGA was becoming eager to pass the pleasantries by and get back to the task at hand. “We are, yes... though the King and Queen are here personally in search of their son.”

“Little Asriel?!” Gaster recoiled a bit in shock. “I thought we had all but lost him and Chara forever! And to think you went here to find him! Have you too found out the true nature of monster souls? Am I not alone in my observations?”

Meanwhile, the Flower listened from afar.

“Stop saying that... stop saying that name. It's not my name...” He held back tears as he listened. “That's not my name anymore...”

The implications, though thoroughly intriguing, could not stand in the way of their search. Asgore stifled his curiosity with urgency. “I know not what you imply, but I'll make this brief as we cannot afford to waste much time – our son's essence stayed where he fell. One of your successors did not know it and tried to use DT on the flower on which he fell-” The sad story was visibly painful to tell, as it was to listen to as Toriel's countenance fell with each word that left her husband's lips.

“I see.... so my observations have led me aright...” Neither Asgore nor Toriel could cut those words out of their minds. Much as they needed to move on, the implications Gaster was making filled them with an anxious hope that upturned their brows and put words at the back of their throats. “No matter. The time is far spent.”

He raised a hand and a gateway of bones lifted up, the interlocking shafts raising one by one.

“Come now. I'll tell you more as we approach to the time crux.”

 ______________

“Man... say what you will about what it's made out of.... this stuff's pretty good...!” Frisk barely kept her ice cream in her mouth, and a little bit dribbled out of her mouth as she spoke.

Undyne chuckled a little “Got a little smidgen right there, kiddo.” She wiped it away with the edge of her thumb. “Oh, and a little here too...” Frisk giggled as Undyne continued to playfully wipe her face and pinch her cheeks. “Oh! And some here... and some here...”

“Undyne, stoppit!” Frisk giggled all the more as Undyne's hands cupped her cheeks, shaking them vigorously.

“And alllll over here!”

“Ahahahah-! Whoa-Oof!” She tumbled back on the bed, accidentally spilling her Ice cream in the process. Nonetheless, she couldn't stop giggling.

“Aw, man.. sorry about that, punk...”

“Nah, it's okay...” Frisk wiped away what little ice cream landed on her shirt, most of it having hit the bed.

Undyne couldn't help but smile a bit as she saw the child smile back. There was little doubt in her mind as to the love this little human had for her and everyone in the underground. As to how she could have been so resistant to it, she still had trouble figuring out. This little girl meant no harm to anybody. Why was she so eager to....

At that moment, she tried to suppress the thought. Then she looked at her laying on the bed, smiling, panting a little.

And then she remembered the necropolis.

The little girl no longer smiled. Her face contorted in pain and terror, blood oozing from the ghastly wound in her abdomen, a blue spear jutting out...

Almost immediately, Undyne shook her head to rid herself of the memory. She didn't need to see it ever again. It burned her inside, filled her with a ghastly sense of rue. She had forgotten herself, and in those few split seconds of wretched memory, she didn't notice how quickly the smile disappeared from her face, or how vehemently she had shaken her head.

“Undyne, are you okay?"

The Warrior looked down again to see Frisk getting up from her recumbent state on the bed, face wrought with empathy and concern.

“Oh... yeah, I'm-I'm okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Undyne hesitated for a bit.

“Is it about what's been happening lately?”

Somewhat reluctant to answer, Undyne didn't see fit to simply leave her hanging. “Yeah... yeah no, it's nothing... “ Hoping not to have to elaborate, she shifted the subject. “Hey, have you gotten any word from the guys up top yet?”

Just then, Frisk felt her phone vibrating. “Oh hold on...” She flipped open her phone. “Oh hey! That's them right now! Hi Dogamy! ….. Okay yeah, we're all still here.... no She won't be back for a while and neither will Asgore. I got Undyne up here with me though.... yeah Okay. Hey Undyne, wanna take it?”

“Sure!” Undyne felt glad to finally touch base with her soldiers after so long.

“Undyne!” Dogamy's tone was just as simultaneously enthusiastic and tired as Undyne's. “We've been worried sick about you! Frisk's been telling us you've been with the Doom guy all this time,.We weren't sure you'd ever come back!”

“Hey come on now, you know me better!” Undyne had to fake her way through her waning distress, but another friend's voice did a lot to help. “What happened to 'Strongest there is?'”

“Yeah, yeah.... hey, we were wondering if maybe you come come up and give us a hand? If anything just to help calm everyone down. Our magic users are still doing a good job at keeping us concealed, but even they're getting kinda antsy.”

“Alright. I'll be up there in a bit.”

“Sweet! We'll see you then. Bye.”

“mmmbye.” She closed the phone, handing it to Frisk. “Alright, they're getting all shaky up there. Wanna come with? I'm pretty sure they'd love to see their ambassador.”

“Sounds good to me!”

The two hopped off the bed and made their way downstairs. Sans and Alphys were busy at the tether stations while Mettaton continued to monitor the New Home entrances. Papyrus sat idly by his brother, twiddling his thumbs and occasionally looking up to watch the Shore party's progress.

“You two missed a lot...” Mettaton's familiar, husky voice echoed a bit in the mostly empty room. “They found Doctor Gaster in there.”

“They found who?!” undyne could hardly believe her ears. “Are you serious?!”

Frisk stayed silent. What little she knew about the man who spoke in hands unsettled her deeply. Those creepy followers, those odd Lab Entries, and of course, that strange, disturbing entity lurking in a hidden room in Waterfall, all made her skin crawl and her blood curdle.

Alphys was eager to see her friend back to her normal self, lending to her own smile. “Oh hey, you're back! Yeah, They just found him in the Necropolis. We can't hear much from the Probes but we know it's him. Kinda freaky really. There's a lot I've been meaning to ask him...”

Papyrus stood up and brushed himself off. “You guys headed somewhere?”

“Oh, yeah.” Frisk was caught off guard by the question, distracted by her nervous thoughts. “Everyone on the surface is getting a little shaky so we're headed up to see if we can calm things down a bit.”

“Mind if I come with you?”

Undyne smiled and waved him over. “Don't keep us waiting, guardsman.”

Turning back to face the others, Sans falgged them down. “Uh hey, frisk.”

“Yeah?”

“Mind hanging back? I'd like to talk to you for a second.”

Frisk turned around and the other two with her nodded. She then approached Sans, somewhat unsure of what the skeleton wanted of her.

“Hey, Alphys, think you can cover me real quick?”

“Sure thing.”

Sans nodded towards the stairs, and the two of them headed up the escalator to where they could speak in private. Then, Sans took a chair and propped it up near the bed, motioning Frisk to take a seat. Now, Frisk was really unsure. Sans had given her some of his little sit downs before, but all of them were prefaced by his cordial, informal japes and quips. This time, he was dead silent. That was enough to make her uncomfortable, much as she tried to hide it as she sat up on the bed again.

Sans noticed the Ice cream mess, but resisted the urge to joke abut it. For a few moments, he tried to gather his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to say, but had no idea how to say it. The ideas were all there, but the words to convey them weren't. He didn't want to do what he had done at the MTT resort. It wasn't as if he didn't already feel guilty enough about what he told her there. “You'd be dead where you stand-” yeah, very smooth choice of words to tell a kid. He just sat there, gathering himself while Frisk became more and more unsettled.

“Sans?” The child's voice was timid and weak. “Are you okay?”

“....”

“Sans?”

“Yeah... yeah, I'm okay kiddo.... I just wanted to ask...”

“What?”

“.... have you been able to.... You know... since this started....”

“I don't think I'm catching on....”

Sans forgot to check his own nervousness and impatience. “Look kid, you know what I'm talking about-!”

Frisk recoiled as fear began to set in. “I don't! Please! I didn't mean to-”

The skeleton quickly grew far more exasperated with himself than with the Child. Way to blow your stack, genius. “Alright, look, sorry I just.... You remember our talks? You remember the things I told you?”

“Yeah?”

“And... well, I know you've rummaged through the lab...”

Suddenly, Frisk knew exactly what he was talking about.

“So... have you been able to-”

“No.”

“What?”

“Something's been keeping me from pulling it off. “

“I assume we're on the same page then?”

“Yeah.” Frisk soon found it hard to make eye contact. “I haven't been able to reset since he got here. I know why you'd be mad though if I just didn't”

“Really? Why?”

“Because if you can do what I can do... it means you've got a responsibility to do what's right.”

Sans froze in his seat. “....so you've done it before huh?”

Frisk stayed quiet, still unable to look him in the eye.

“Have you?'

“.... yeah.”

“How many times?”

“... enough.”

“Alright.... is it okay of I asked what for?”

“I made mistakes....” her eyes shifted down to the floor, and her legs began to swing while her thumbs ran over and under each other .

“What kind of mistakes?”

“....”

“Frisk? Frisk, what ki-?”

“big ones.”

“….Oh.”

“Big ones I really don't wanna talk about.”

Sans realized his curiosity had taken them both far enough. “Okay.”

“is that all you wanted to know?” The Girl's tone was noticeably sullen.

A little tinge of guilt welled up indie Sans' heart for digging as deep as he did. “Yeah... look, I'm sorry for taking you back there, I just..... I just needed to know.”

“Okay.”

Another pause ensued. Neither knew what to say or do anymore. It was awkward. Neither wanted to move, yet both just wanted nothing more than to leave.

Then, looking back at the bed, Sans found their ticket out. “Pfft... Undyne suplex you while eating rocky road or something?”

Frisk looked where his eyes were and saw the spilled ice ream. “Oh yeah, that was just a little accident. Undyne needed some cheering up.”

“Man, Alphys is gonna love the strawberry....”

“Yeah, it's not too big a deal..” she jumped off the bed and took the sheets off before putting the down beside the foot of the bed.

Sans sighed a quick little breath of relief. “heh.. yeah. Welp, let's head back downstairs. Getting kinda stuffy in here”

The air was by no means stale, but Frisk knew what he meant. “Yeah, it's kinda muggy up here.”

As the two came off the escalator, Frisk turned and saw what was on the monitor There they all were, treading that bone-ridden ground. It looked so foreboding to her, so frightening and real. She watched and hoped that perhaps he was there, that he was still alright.

It couldn't be too late to save him.


	20. A Vow to Fulfill

“So Doctor.... we only lost you a few decades ago. The Testaments said that you assisted the Doom Slayer-”

“Many thousands of years ago, yes.” Gaster replied to his old Lord with curt assurance, taking care to heed the treacherous floating stone bridge underfoot. “The reckoning of time here is somewhat tricky. All planes lead here, one way or another, and for some reason, in some way, it all converged in that one time, so incongruent with all else... just at the right time to lend aid to the Unchained Predator, to do my part in taking down this great cesspool of rancor and blood.”

Coming off of the bridge, they made their way through a barren, rocky crevasse, just high enough and crooked enough to obscure their vision of the way ahead. The way became long, and with every minute, the Dreemurrs became more and more anxious over their lost son. Desperately, they wished to call out at every crack in the rocks, hoping he would show himself or answer. Amid all the distant wailing and the thunder roiling in the distance, they only wished to hear his voice again. They knew that couldn't and wouldn't happen. He wouldn't answer back to them in his current state. If anything, it would just push him farther away. As far as they knew, he didn't want to be found, and here there was ample provision, in all the stony crags and jagged ridges for him to conceal himself; save himself from rescue.

The Queen's anxiety quickly got the better of her, and she opened up the comms on her bracer. “Alphys, Sans, are you there?”

“I hear you, your highness.” Alphys did her best to divide her attention between Toriel and the readings on her side of the station.

“How are we doing on tracking his DT? We still see no sign of him.”

“Give me a sec...”

DT signature detection programming wasn't all too hard to configure and install onto the UAC system. Alphys searched dutifully through the readings, enabling the thermograph-like display overlooking the shore party's sector of the Steppe. No unusual spikes in DT. Further scans from probes in the surrounding areas of the steppe yielded no sightings. What few traces that had been found had already faded, and his trail had run cold. Alphys was unsure of what she could say. This would have been at least the seventh time in an hour she would have to tell the Queen or King that nothing other than the initial traces have been found.

Disappointed and worried, Alphys was somewhat reluctant to answer. “Still nothing, Toriel. Only really big source of DT in your area is Doomguy. We'll keep looking”

Frisk looked on from the other side of the room. Her thoughts were whirling around in her head at a million miles an hour, all centered around him. Those last words they shared together, those painful memories she uncovered, that pain she felt as she had to leave him in that garden – none of it would go away. She felt so powerless to help. This was very much a grown up situation in a grown up's world. She slouched to the floor, face buried between her knees, not really wanting to hear much more, but too preoccupied with her thoughts to move.

“Okay... thank you, Alphys.”

“Hey, don't sweat it.” Sans' tone was now more caring than nonchalant or casual, as it had been. “You guys will find him sooner or later. Besides, I got a feeling, he's gonna be curious about your new company. He'll wanna investigate”

Asgore was somewhat skeptical. “How do you know for sure? What makes you think he'll take interest in Doomguy or VEGA?”

Sans glanced for a bit over at the old file he had uncovered, eyes narrowing somewhat. “I think I told you about what DT can do when it hits certain comparative concentrations. Doomguy and VEGA are something new.”

Asgore then remembered Gaster's old research and the alarming reports that followed. “Ah... I see.”

“Just keep on it, guys. We'll see you in a few, okay? Sans out.”

A brief patch of static and the comms went silent. The King and queen just kind of held their bracers up, hoping in vain that maybe either Sans or Alphys would pick back up and give them some sort of miraculous development, anticipating a sudden crackle and raised voices exclaiming the wonderful mews that they saw something that would lead them to him.

They knew it was vain. Both lowered their bracers, and silently trudged forward behind the others.

It wasn't very long of a walk until the crevasse ended, leading out into a desolate plain or stone and smoke. The sky was clearer than ever, and as the group wandered out into the open, they could see the massive plateaus and sheer cliffs in the distance, their ridges and peaks glowing red with the setting of a hellish sun, or whatever gave this foreboding place its light. The plains before them were vast and barren, devoid of any life, and littered here and there with the remains of death. In the west, clouds were gathering, and crimson bolts of lightning darted to and fro in distant silence. The Doom Slayer had little regard for it, but everyone else displayed a sort of silent, fearful reverence.

Gaster, though familiar with the way, spoke with all graveness and stoicism in addressing the sight before them. “Past the mountains or Kharzad in the horizon lies our destination: the Citadel of Baphomet.”

The Marine's eyes narrowed. That name alone was enough to boil his blood.

“The way is yet long and arduous. I Propose we rest here for a moment. We have already trekked several hours. Any opposed?”

None replied so.

A small holographic panel appeared before VEGA's eyes and disappeared almost as soon as it came. “It appears Alphys would have benefited from using Argent plasma in this body's power matrix. The Battery has already been depleted to 62%. It will require time to recharge to 80. With the modifications I have made however, deactivating for about thirty minutes should afford me all the time needed.”

“We may need a rest too.” Asgore was not utterly exhausted, and neither was Toriel. Still, their breathing had become somewhat audible. “Thirty minutes is all however. We don't want to be caught vulnerable by the enemy.”

A kind of darkness emanated from Gaster's hollow palms. “I should have us covered. I see a small cavern several yards away.... I can conceal us there until the time is spent.”

They made their way to the small cavity, glad to get some sort of respite. “I know this place well. There are many places to conceal oneself, but only for so long.”

“Understood. Preparing to enter dormancy.”

“It's alright.” Asgore sounded somewhat resigned at this point. “We need a little time to talk about things anyway.”

“As do I. Me and the Hunter will stand guard outside. I must hold council with him.”

VEGA shut himself down, and the Dreemurrs nodded before Gaster shrouded the entrance to the cavity with a thick darkness that seemed to perfectly emulate shadow. It blocked any and all sound, making it impossible for anything on the outside to hear the King and queen, and vice-versa.

The Doom Slayer was apprehensive. There could only be so many things Gaster would want to talk to him about, especially when taking into account the conversation of the past hour. As the Ghoul turned to him with a sullen face and eyes that couldn't find his, suspicion mounted in his mind.

“Old Friend.... what do you think of the situation? What we're doing?”

The Praetor cocked his head to the side, wanting clarification.

“I mean.... VEGA's home is in devastation, if he tells us the truth. If a world has come to the point where Argent was their only answer, that is indeed a world in shambles. His is a race against time to save the people of his world. They could be dying and killing each other in droves as we speak.”

The Praetorian folded his arms. His expression became all the more suspicious.

“And with the Dreemurrs.... I was there, old friend. I was there when they lost him. You have to understand, that was the single most hopeless day monsters had ever weathered. There was a tinge, just a little speck of hope in our hearts that perhaps peace could be brought between us and the humans. That's when it had to happen, Doom Slayer. It had to happen right when it seemed we could start over again. He stumbled in with Chara in his arms. Both of them bleeding... a trail ran from the east entrance to the garden.... I heard them screaming, wailing for them.... I'll never forget their voices. I'll never forget their cries. I'll never forget the weeping and wailing in the underground that followed, and I'll never forget the endless regret the King would share with me because of his decree. I never thought I had seen such devastation in my life. Perhaps even now, nothing surpasses it.”

The eyes behind the visor began to narrow in suspicion. The Hunter was beginning to understand what the Ghoul was saying, or at least he had thought so.

“And then... we have you....”

His suspicions were correct.

“I know you want him back... I know its all you wanted all these years... It's why I built those for you. It's why I made that armor for you; you would be their ultimate defeat. You would take back what they had taken from you, but... there's three problems here and only two solutions. A dying world in need of an energy solution, Toriel and Asgore getting one more chance to save their son and undo all those horrible memories... and then there's you and Baphomet. We have the crucible and the Siphon, and they have already taken the energy of one world already. The energy of the Time Crux is all that's left, and it cannot be used to open the Spirit World. It is tainted and cannot be purified by the Siphon.”

He unfolded his arms and his fists clenched, his knuckles cracking.

Gaster began to fear to speak more, lest he incur the Doom Slayer's wrath, but out of his convictions, he felt it had to be said. “I'm just wondering... you know how it all came to be. I don't mean to heap blame onto you, old friend, but there's a reason he is where he is now. There's a reason he became.... that. If you let the others suffer.... it would be for the same reason.”

The Praetor took a thundering step towards the old Doctor.

“A-all I'm saying is... I know you... you wouldn't let anyone suffer for your benefit any longer. There's only two ways it can happen: you.. or them.”

At that moment, the Doom Slayer lost all his temper, drawing the sword of the Crucible and putting it to Gaster's neck. Indignation and rage boiled within him, sending steam out of his nostrils that fogged his visor, and blood streaking in his widened, crazed eyes. Never before had the old Doctor seen something so terrifying; not in all his years trapped in the bowels of Hell. No demon could ever hope to capture the ungodly anger in this man's eyes – those wide, empty, burning eyes. The Praetor advanced with sword arm still outstretched, forcing Gaster to retreat slowly, inch by inch, unable to look away and escape the Unchained Predator's furious, unforgiving gaze.

“P-please! It was just a sugges-!”

He pressed the blade's crescent end into Gaster's throat. One hard push, and it would be over.

The Ghoul feared for his life. He tripped over a stone or a crack and fell onto the barren ground, the red glow of the Crucible's blade lighting up his terrified, pale face. “I-I just needed to let you know.... there's only so much we can do! I know how long you've worked for this and I know how long you've waited, but please! You wouldn't do this to them! I know you better! You know their pain, all three of them! A dying world for one and a chance to regai-”

The Praetor knelt down and picked the monster up by his throat, holding the edge of his blade with a cocked arm, the tip of the sword still just inches away from Gaster's face. He brought the old Doctor's face in ever so closer until the Monster could see every individual vein throbbing in the indignant Marine's eyes.

The Marine then gave his reply to Gaster's pleading. He Furrowed his face into a horrid snarl and simply shook his head before dropping him back down to the ground.

It would not happen.

This was his chance. His one and only chance to set things right. He felt for the Dreemurrs and their plight, but there was nothing he could do. He had waited too long for this opportunity. Eons had passed between worlds and throughout time in his reckoning. However long they had waited, however long it had been since Asriel passed away, he could not, would not let that trump the endless epochs of blood and fury he had endured. He turned around, leaving Gaster in the dust before concealing once more his crimson blade. He watched with a stern eye as the Ghoul meekly crawled into the darkness he had made for concealment. With that, he let out a deep breath, walked to the edge of the cavity and sat down upon the cold, stone ground, slouching against the rock with one knee up and the other straightened out. He had little time to relax, and the anger of the past minute had brought his heart rate up a little higher than usual. He needed a breather, quick as it was, to recuperate. The next part of the journey would not be easy, not even for him.

In the distance, a pair of eyes watched him. He did not see them, but they watched him with all the probing curiosity of the little drones that even now searched for them. Flowey knew he had to keep out of sight, lest they find him, but he had to withhold every urge to follow after and speak to this “Doom Slayer” with every ounce of determination he had left.

What was that “Crucible” supposed to do?

What was this “Spirit World” the old Scientist talked about?

What's this about a “Time Crux?”

And why, Why did those fools, those IDIOTS....  
Why did his parents come looking for him?

Couldn't they just leave him alone? Couldn't they just let him rot away here? Couldn't they just live their lives without him? They had Frisk. They had all those other people. Why him? All these years and they still cared. They still sought him out. All those resets and they don't remember what he-

He then cut off his train of thought before it could go any further. He felt enough self loathing. He was already nothing. He didn't need any more reminders.

With that, he slunk back inside the deep crevice from which he observed them, and like them, decided it would be a good time to rest. If he wanted answers, he would need to keep following them. Carefully. Deliberately, and without being seen. That would require a lot of energy he had lost in that banal trek through the necropolis and through the rift. He closed his eyes, and for just a little while, went to sleep.

_______________________ 

 

“....What do you think, Alphys?”

She found Sans' question hard to answer. “I dunno... I really hope this doesn't escalate. There would be no safe way to intervene.”

“I dunno if Its conflict I'd be worried about.” Both Sans and Alphys turned to Mettaton, still facing his screens and monitoring the entrances. “I'm worried about Doomguy.”

“How so?”

“Well Sans, he has a decision to make. The Crucible seems to have a lot of secrets, and it seems they can help Toriel and Asgore, but I don't think that's what he plans on using them for. He's got something else in mind. I don't know what, but judging from that little... display, it doesn't seem like something he'd give up very easily.”

Sans scratched his head a little. “What do you think it would be?”

Alphys then remembered the UAC data logs. Sparks were going off in her head, but they weren't enough to illuminate everything. She needed confirmation, and she knew where to look. “Wait... let me look through the Codex real quick...”

Everyone huddled around her screen, Including Mettaton, who set the Overlord System on automatic as he left his station. All eyes were steadfast on the codex entries as Alphys flipped through each page. Locations, UAC Staff, Demonic Entities, Planes of hell... Argent D'Nur..

The elevator doors opened, and Frisk came out with a bag of popato chisps in hand. As she saw everyone crammed around Alphys' computer, her pace quickened from slow walk to brisk jog, especially when she saw Doomguy's old home on the screen.

“What're you guys looking at?”

“Oh, there you are kiddo.” Sans ruffled her hair as she came up to the desk. “I was beginning to wonder where you were at. Almost had me worried.”

“'Argent D'Nur.... Isn't that where Doomguy is from?”

“It is, Darling. You know that... little exchange he and Gaster had?”

“Yeah... yeah I remember.”

“Guys...” Alphys' face was pale as she pointed to the words on screen. “Look.”

She read aloud. “Lead there by the wretched Betrayer, Deag Grav and his cabal set a curse upon the Wraiths as they slept, and used their essence for our own devices. With the power of the Wraiths they formed The Well, that which brings us upon our enemies. Thus, the city of Argent and their false gods fell under the unholy might of the Hell priests. “

“For his payment, ….” Everyone gasped as they followed along. Alphys couldn't bring herself to read those few words. What they told her, what they told everyone, was anything but what they were prepared for.

Frisk took over reading the last parts. “....the Icon of Sin was brought upon the heathens. His vengeance was swift and merciless, for the wages of treachery are suffering.“

No one dared speak a word. Everyone knew what this meant. The heated reaction given by the Doom Slayer had been elucidated at last. The light cast by this little revelation brought forth some very ugly realities, and even uglier possibilities.

Mettaton worked up the courage to speak first. “So... does this mean what I think it means?”

Alphys rocked in her chair a little bit. “Should... should we tell them about this? Should we let them know?”

“Didn't Gaster say something about the Time Crux's energy? Couldn't he use that?”

Mettaton shook his head. “No Sans, he said it was too impure. He can't use it to.... well...”

All the while, Frisk too was unsure of what to say or do. Once more she felt helpless, but even more so now than ever. She was not only helpless to help Asriel, but powerless to change Doomguy's mind. This was up to him. No one else could make the decision, and as the other three kept on debating as to whether or not the Dreemurrs should be informed, she knew either way, that if it's what he wanted, not even they could stop him.

___________________ 

 

“Alright, alright, alright everyone! It's okay, they'll be back before tomorrow!”

“That's what we thought yesterday!”

“When can we just leave? I don't wanna be here when those things break out!”

“Me neither!”

The Crowd was beginning to devolve further and further into disorganized uproar. Night Knight, Madjick, and all the other casters keeping them concealed were starting to attract small crowds of people asking them to lower the barriers. Talk of the old barrier and other doomsaying rhetoric flooded them

Night Knight quickly found herself overwhelmed with worried and even angry monsters gathering all around her. “Undyne, you think we can use a little crowd control? Things are getting a little out of ha-OW!” A small rock hit her square in the face, thrown from an anxious, red-skinned monster, shouting at her to take the barrier down with utmost impatience and even anger. “HEY! GET BACK! GET BACK, RIGTH NOW!! I'M WARNING YOU-!”

“That didn't sound good. What's the plan Undyne?”

“I dunno, Pap....” both the Captain and the Skeleton were finding themselves quickly surrounded by anxious pleas and angry rants. “Hold on, lemme call Alphys...”

 __________

The three monsters and Frisk kept arguing as to whether or not The King and Queen shold know about the Doom Slayer's agenda.

“Guys, we have to tell them! Doomguy's a good man, he'll understa-”

“Alphys, darling, you don't honestly think he'd just give it up after all these ye-”

“Mettaton, please!” Frisk hoped she could melt his and Sans' hearts. “He's gonna understand-”

Sans let out an annoyed chagrin. “He'll understand that letting Asgore and Toriel get Asriel back will make it so that he can't-”

Then, Alphys' phone rang, cutting everyone off. The ringtone echoed in the now quiet room. Deliberating for a bit, Alphys picked it up, after letting it ring several times.

“It's Undyne.... hey, is everything alright up- wait...” She could hear the panicked throng form her end.

“Yeah, no, its' not okay, Al.” As she put it on speaker, everyone could her the crowd roaring and yelling. 'Please tell me you've got good news to share. We need something quick or these guys are gonna beat our casters into the dust.”

There was very little good news to share. “Um, Undyne, I don't think now's the best time to-”

“Now's the ONLY time, Al! Just gimme something!”

The multitude's impatient cries made everyone's minds leap into a rush. “Well, what are we gonna tell them? Maybe I could get them to simmer down if I head up there-”

“I don't think some TV show antics are gonna placate anyone this time, Mettaton.”

“Sans, come on, just think of something!”

“Hey, come on, kiddo, I don't-”

“WAIT, guys, hold on....” Alphys's head burned with rushed and frenzied thought. They couldn't say anything about the Doomguy situation, obviously. They couldn't talk about the Prince, as no one was certain how that situation would pan out.

“Undyne! Tell them they're almost done!”

“We've told them that a million times, no one's buying it!”

“No, I mean, they're really almost there! There's this place called the Time Crux-”

“'What?!” Undyne could barely hear her over the surface din.

“They found a place called the Time Crux that can shut everything down!!”

“Hold on...” Undyne did not hesitate to put her phone on speaker. She called out as loud as she could to get everyone's attention, summoning the loudest her boisterous voice could muster. _**“HEEEEEY!”**_

Everyone fell quiet.

“Say it again, Alphys!”

“The Shore Party has ran into a new development! A place in Hell known as the Time Crux is the real source of the energy they are using to sustain the invasion! They are moving in on it as we speak!”

The crowd immediately burst into applause.

“Hey, thanks for the save, babe.”

“No problem.”

“Hey, real quick while we're on the down low.... anything else happening? Anything we should know about”

The other end was quiet.

“.... Alphys? You were telling me the truth, right? They are actually-”

“Almost there, yes...”

“Are you okay? You don't really sound like everything is okay...”

“It really isn't.... Let's just say that Doomguy might have a chip on his shoulder.”

“What? What do you mean a chip on his shoulder? Is he hiding something?”

Mettaton spoke up so that she could hear him. “Oh, he's hiding nothing, darling. In fact, he was actually quite brash about it when Gaster tried talking him out of it.”

'Wait, Gaster?! W.D. Gaster? Him?! What's he doing there? Guys, c'mon, you gotta tell me what's up, is he-”

Frisk took the phone. “Undyne, do you think you can come down here? Maybe leave everyone with Papyrus?”

“Frisk...”

“There's a lot to explain.”

The Captain froze for a moment. All the different implications being thrown around were eating at her and they wouldn't stop. “Alright... I'll be down in a sec.” Then she hung up her phone.

“Papyrus?”

“Yes?”

“Think you can hold the fort down?”

“But we just got everyone calmed down! I can't handle everyone by myself, especially if you just leave! Everyone's still kinda tense.”

“Hold on...” Undyne cleared her throat a little. **“ATTENTION EVERYONE!!”**

All eyes shifted to her.

“Papyrus will watch over you guys for just a minute. Everyone posted in Snowdin, you're under his command for now! I'm heading down to the lab to get more information and come back with whatever specific developments come up. Everyone just stay calm. I'll be back shortly, Until then, follow Papyrus' instructions and we'll all be fine and Kosher. Everyone good?”

The crowd's response was mixed. Some were affirmative and others murmured among themselves.

Doing her best to maintain her composure regardless, Undyne bid farewell. “Alright, sweet! I'll be back in a few. Pap, take care of everyone, alright?”

“Gotcha.”

She then made her way down the old staircase. She became more and more tense as she ruminated on the situation. What was Doomguy thinking? What was he up to? How was Gaster back? The barrage of inquiry gave speed to her footstep as she made her way to the lab. As she ran past Snowdin and into Waterfall, her worries coerced her into opening her phone.

“Alphys, are you there?”

“Undyne-”

“Come on, I can't stay gone for too long, can't you just tell me what's going on?”

“They don't need to hear about this, Undyne. You'd need speaker to hear over them and someone would eavesdrop.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“.... you'll see.”


	21. On the Doorstep

Swirling around him were the fires of war. He couldn’t recall the name of the city. It was crumbling and in flames, and the darkened, smoky skies glowed with the amber light of the inferno that consumed the city after three days of bombing and shelling. Every street reeked with the iron scent of blood and death, the smell of coagulating viscera and the lingering stench of cordite. The dust of each crumbling edifice mingled with and dried up the blood that flowed from the scattered remains of their tenants. In the distance, one could hear the rhythmic cadence of machine gun fire, softly drowned out by the flames that licked out of the window of every ruined building. He could hear footsteps all around him, the sound of other boots carefully treading stony, upturned ground where busy roads filled with commuters and pedestrians used to be. Their march was quiet, and unlike the busy, hollering escapades of basic training, it did not ring with the uniform step of a hundred men in rank and file. They were close, but scattered, each of them with their heads on a swivel, looking for any resistance, any danger that may lie within the many new crags and crevices in the smoky rubble.

Not everyone who had been deployed there remained. Some turned around to talk to comrades who were no longer there, only to catch the words before they left their throats and turn back around with hollow eyes. Many had been lost on the battlefield, taken out by shelling during the siege of the city. Others yet had perished to enemy fire upon their entrance, and more yet to civilian partisans who, in their minds, had brought upon themselves their own doom.

The city had already fallen: Its government had conceded defeat, and the United Aerospace Corporation’s quest for unity through dominance was nearing its end. All that was left was to clean up the rubble, and anyone or anything that dared stand in the way.

The memory faded out for a few moments. All was black and silent.

Then, without any warning or buildup, it snapped back into view. Now, he was somewhere in the rubble himself, watching as the marines corralled a group of people wearing raggedy scraps of tattered cloth with hands over their head into a single file line and put them against a wall. There were five of them; two parents and three young children.

Suddenly, he recognized the long-buried memory, and he desperately tried to wake up.  
Especially when he saw someone standing in front of the quivering family with a rifle in hand.

He already knew the outcome. No matter what he did, his “comrades” would take out their “justice” upon these people. He would be bludgeoned with the butt of a rifle and dragged away from his commanding officer’s broken, bleeding body, his fists coated scarlet out of indignant justice and rage, and as the world would go black, he would see another soldier carry out the orders he refused before waking up and finding himself in cuffs before the unforgiving eyes of the military police.

But to his horror, that wasn’t what he saw now

The soldiers had their rifles aimed at a crowd while the Commanding Officer gave a word of warning, pointing to the quailing family who now stared into the barrel of another faceless marine’s rifle.

“Let this be a message to all of you! Some of you may be tempted to think this fight isn't over, like some of the little snipers and partisans who have harassed and killed several of my men… “

The faceless man loaded his carbine. The father huddled around his wife and children as the crowd looked on in despair. Some tried calling out for them, only for the soldiers to encroach upon them further, shouldering a rifle at anyone who opened their mouth.

“So I'm gonna make this really simple. You will give each other motivation.”

The soldier took his helmet off.

All breath escaped the Doom Slayer’s lungs as he saw his face

It was him. It was him in an earlier life… but it was obvious that this would not play out as it had before. He tried to pry himself out of the rubble, but all strength had been stolen from him. His arms couldn’t move even the slightest debris. He felt helpless. Paralyzed. Powerless.

"For every man I lose from this time forth, it will be answered on _your_ heads. These five are only the beginning."

His other self glared pitilessly at the cowering family.

“Today, you will learn that the weakest link breaks the chain. Marine… show them.”

He shouldered his weapon.  
The Family huddled together, sobbing

He fired.

And as he fired, all the world’s noise was reduced to a horrible, ear-splitting whine. The screams of the crowd were silent. The successive shots from the weapon were silent. The family’s bodies hitting the ground were silent. Everything had been drowned out by that terrible droning noise, that screaming in the Slayer’s conscience that started as a low ringing, increasing in amplitude until it was enough to make one’s ears bleed. The Praetor tried to close his eyes, tried to look away, but he couldn’t. Frozen were his eyelids as was his blood. The ringing increased in amplitude and became a scream. Many screams, all crying out at once. The vision became red as the Hunter tried to close his eyes. Slowly, it all went redder and redder until it was completely and utterly black.

 

And then his eyes opened.

His struggling lungs gasped for air, and his whole body lunged forward, as if to break out of the rubble of that ruined city. His arms thrust before him, and groped at nothing as he tumbled forward and landed face first onto the unforgiving, dusty ground. He lay there for a few moments, panting, gasping for breath before slowly righting himself, standing with a hand to his head. He took off his helmet for a moment, rubbing his aching temples as the blood that had rushed to his skull brought throbbing pain with it.

He stared blankly at the world around him, ruminating on his dream. He hadn’t many occasions to sleep, let alone to dream in all the many years he had spent in his crusade. That singular event shook him, rocked him to his core.

He hadn’t noticed the others coming out of the cavity as he stood there.

Toriel’s voice got his sudden attention. “Sir, are you well? You seem a little… dazed.”

The Doom Slayer meekly turned her way, still rubbing his temples, his eyes seeming to stare out into the horizon beyond the queen. His brow was not stuck in its eternal furrow, neither was his gaze as piercing or intense. He looked empty. Dead inside. Without another gesture or word, he turned back around and trudged back to the other side of the cavity to think by himself for a moment.

VEGA’s head tilted a bit to one side. “Never would I have predicted this kind of behavior from him. I’ve never seen him this way before.”

Asgore scratched the back of his head as the Marine walked away. “Will he be well, Doctor?

Gaster deliberated for a moment. “I’m not sure how to answer that, O King. He has a lot to take in and think about right now.”

That was enough to pique Toriel’s worried curiosity. “Like what?”

Gaster went outright silent for a few moments. The Dreemurrs each tried to drum up the wherewithal to say “Doctor?” but neither spoke.

The Doom Slayer listened intently from his side of the rock. His fingers groped around the hilt of the crucible. He still did not want Toriel and Asgore to know, and to him, the end objective was still clear, though after that dream, perhaps it was not so clear anymore, and though he gripped the weapon tightly, his thumb just barely scratched the gem in the center that would activate the blade.

“…I suppose we’ll all see soon enough.” Gaster turned back towards the eventual destination, took a few steps, then turned back around towards where the Doom Slayer sat. “Old friend… we ought to get going. Come, your majesties.”

The old Doctor knew that sooner or later, he would follow. There was no telling however, how long he would need to be by himself.

The sound of the others’ footsteps did not move the Doom Slayer from his place on the cold, dusty side of that rock. His eyes were blank, and his mouth silently muttered along with the countless barrage of thoughts vying for control over his head. Why did he dream that? That’s not how it went… was it? It couldn’t be. He was assigned to that penal battalion on Mars for a reason. But why? Why was he thinking this? What changed that memory? Had it been repressed all that time?

With every maddening second, the Praetor fell deeper and deeper into catatonia, and his aching mind and quickly searing conscience screamed within him as he slumped onto the ground.

How was a dream having this much sway on him?  
What was real anymore?

And so he sat there, thinking ceaselessly to no real end. There were no answers to the questions in his head that weren’t really there. He wrestled with his mind, trying to find out what he was feeling, and why he was feeling it. It couldn’t have been him who did that… it would never be him.

He could never let that happen to someone who…

It was almost as if an emergency switch had been hit in his brain, but the Praetor suddenly stood up and brushed himself off, and like the dust on his greaves, the whirlwind of paralyzing thought was swept away from him. He had gotten good at shutting things out. Still, this was as long as anything had ever distracted him, and as he righted himself and saw Gaster, VEGA, and the Dreemurrs fading farther and farther into the distance, he still hesitated somewhat to run after them.

With a deep breath and a crack of his knuckles, the Hunter, without thinking, ran after them. If he thought any more on it, it would consume him again.

He knew what he was here to do, at least for the moment. That was all that mattered.

 

“You’d actually be very interested to know, VEGA.” Gaster kept his eyes on the many crags ahead in which a demon could hide. “The nature of timelines has much to do with what we’re up against…”

“I suppose. We never sensed any convolutions or distortions in our timeline – the only real anomalies consisted of interplanar activity and intrusions.”

“That may be the case for you, but for us, time is wounded. The crux has taken its toll on it, and in many planes, including ours, O King, the side effects make themselves manifest. What we have discerned as DT has much to do with how we are linked to the flow of time and gravity itself…”

Gaster’s rhetoric was quickly becoming far more esoteric and mystical than what anyone else was comfortable around or capable of understanding especially the clinical VEGA. “I’m not sure I’m catching on when you say, 'flow of time.’ perhaps, if you could explain it in more… empirical terms?”

“Ah forgive me. I lose myself at times. I think the best way to-“

Thundering footsteps interrupted him, and all turned around to see a somewhat exasperated Praetorian, his face no longer pallid, but still staring forward with harrowed eyes.

“You’re back…” Gaster’s mouth hung slightly open as he thought of what he would say. “I assume you’ve made your decision?”

The Doom Slayer was still for a moment. Then he winced a little and nodded to the affirmative, unable to look Gaster in the eye.

“I see… I’ll leave it to you then.”

Everyone wanted to ask what he was talking about, but none summoned up the proper courage before proceeding, venturing toward a foreboding range of jagged mountains ahead of them. The sun had set further still, and the peaks of each mountain cast their blackened shadow across the barren plain. It set north-northeast while another source of light peeked out from behind the clouds, glimmering in bloody scarlet. Gaster knew it firsthand, and could only imagine what the Doom Slayer felt as he saw it. Both knew what it was and what it meant.

“As I was saying, The Time crux does not build bridges or open doors into other worlds, as I designed the crucible to do. The Crimson Blade makes a careful, precise incision, as it was based on purer Argent energy: The Time Crux, with its raw hellish power, blasts great holes in time and in space. We see time in a line of progression, but the Crux was made to see all time as we see space, infinite points in time stretching before its eye as we see the valleys before us." 

All but VEGA were still wrapping their heads around the idea. "So its experience is four dimensional. Is it sapient?"

"To an extent. It beholds a time and place, and when it sees a window, it breaks through, violently, tearing into another world as it sews Hell's time and gravity into it. The worlds are set parallel, and the force it exudes as it makes its breach is violent enough to set the others out of alignment.”

The implications dawned on Asgore, unstopping his mouth. “So, when you surmised that our timeline was unstable- “

“It is because of the Time Crux, yes.”

“I don’t believe I was present for this report Doctor.” Toriel’s curiosity had mingled with her confusion.

“Time has been fluctuating in our world. We’ve seen it be disrupted, restarted, reset altogether. That’s why my soul research… brought me to where I am now. ‘The Darkness keeps growing. The Shadows cutting deeper….’”

 

Sans and Alphys stood still, as did everyone else in the compound.  
Frisk listened intently, her hands folded in front of her face. It looked less like she was taking it in so much as she was bracing herself for something. She looked at the others, all wearing shocked faces and breathing silently, as the soft, quiet noise made by the air conditioning was the only sound in the room.

Undyne could barely eke out any of the words that remained stuck in her throat. “Wh-what….”

 

The craggy edges of what looked like a deep ditch or an arroyo raised around them. It led into even deeper depths that snaked towards the mountains

“’Photon readings negative... “

Asgore’s blood ran cold. “So you-“

“Yes, your majesty. My soul research let me peer into the space outside of time…that’s where I was shattered, and that’s where I learned where souls go – a realm on the very edge of all time that is near impossible to breach, sitting at the opposite end from Hell in the cosmos.”

The ditch became a chasm, and the chasm became a tunnel.

“Both monsters and humans and all manner of life dwell there. I could not ever hope to describe it to you. it is utterly outside of your full comprehension, but I do know this. There’s a reason human souls remain in time’s grasp for so much longer. The power in their souls, ‘determination’, as we have come to call it, is what keeps time moving in any direction. it is a conduit through which a soul can access gravity and time. Any form of life with enough determination in effect hold the key to this conduit. All life has some effect on it in some way. It is complicated to explain in full, but souls with enough determination can interact with the flow of time, even bring it back, in our three-dimensional experience from all possible four dimensional points, but only as far as it has been skewed. One's access to the DT-time conduit is limited otherwise. That is why there are resets; Because of the Time Crux.”

A faint green light illuminated the rock and bone that upheld the musty cavern.

“Wait…” A certain realization nearly struck VEGA dumb. “Our tethering technology is based around use of hell artifacts. Hell has been using Argent energy since before the beginning of the program, yet even after the Doom Marine sapped all of it out-“

“You were still able to use it.” Gaster needed no explanation. Interlopers trying to use hell’s energy had met their ruin long before the UAC tried their hand at it. “You know what this means, right?”

“The tether relies on relics that sapped into the hub where the Well’s power was dispersed through all hell… that must include the Crux… If we destroy it, our ability to tether will be undone. The relics, our portal stones will have nothing to power themselves on.”

“Then we had better be smart about how we go about this. There’s only one way back home” Toriel wrung her hands as she walked.

The green light elucidated more and more of the bloody tunnel as they got closer.

“Just how long until we arrive, though?” It was unlike Asgore to be impatient or overly anxious, but they had marched an awfully long way.

Toriel too felt her nerves fraying. “And what of Asriel? We’ve still seen no sign of-“

They all stopped before a glowing pentagram before them. The murky world around them was now only rendered in various shades of green set against the blackness of the passageway. A graceful, undulating serpentine of light swirled over the stone.

“That is the way.” Gaster paused for a moment. He heard some rocks tumbling from the fleshy walls behind him “As for little Asriel… I think he knows we’re here. He cannot be afar off. There’s too much for him to let alone. If he were to lose us now, he’d never know about the power of the time crux, Baphomet or the Doom Slayer…”

The flower cursed under his breath at the loose rubble underneath him. The others just around the bend and hidden from view, but they were close enough for him to hear Gaster’s little psychoanalytic gambit clearly. He wasn’t wrong either. He needed answers.

“I believe Asriel will be with us soon enough…”

Flowey gritted his teeth and his eyes went black. “That isn’t my name… stop using that name…”

Toriel and Asgore turned back and saw nothing, but neither knew Gaster as a liar or a trickster, and when they turned back around to see him smiling a little, both exchanged in their looks a slight tinge of hope.

As they readied to walk through the warp stone, the Doom Slayer too made eye contact with Gaster. Gone was his smile and returned was his sobriety. Their eyes only met for a second before Gaster turned back to the green light, stepped onto the portal and disappeared, Toriel, Asgore, and VEGA following suit. For just another moment, the Doom Slayer was left alone, processing what Gaster had said and what that look meant. He was no fool. Once again, he began to doubt himself, but sheer willpower burned through his re-emerging guilt, shaking his head, and narrowing his eyes as he stepped into the warp. Green light enveloped him, and he was gone in a flash.

Gone before the Flower’s very eyes.

“Woah….”

Coming out of s second hiding place, Flowey hesitated for a moment, hoping the group would have proceeded a bit before he made his entrance. The Ghoul was right about him: his curiosity could not stand unsated, and as much as he loathed it, he needed answers. The low hum of the portal invited him to come, and he slowly inched toward it, his eyes wide open with wonder.

“Guess you’re right, old fool. I do want answers.”

He brought a tendril over the stone.

“But not from you…. I want them from him.”

No sooner did his vine touch the pentagram than did he disappear in a blinding flash of light.

 

Sans paced around the room. No hand stood under his chin to signify his intense contemplation. He had grown utterly unaware of himself as he briskly went back and forth across the room. Alphys did not say a word and stared blankly at the floor.

The uncertainty hit Undyne the hardest. “Guys? Guys, what were they talking about? Sans?” he didn’t answer. He just kept on walking. In desperation, she turned to Alphys, lowering her voice a little. “Al! Alphys, come on, you gotta answer me here, what was Gaster talking about? Was he really-?”

The Scientist turned to meet her eyes, and Undyne felt every word in her throat stolen from her. She saw uncertainty in those eyes. They were afraid. She knew, with that look, that Alpys had nothing to say, at least nothing that could give her any other answers than “I know no more than you.” Alphys’ eyes fleeted a little before she returned her gaze to the floor.

She turned to Mettaton, pointing to the two scientists, hoping he’d know something.

He shrugged. “I-I don’t know, Undyne.”

She looked at Sans, still pacing, still staring, His eyes seemed so much more intense. He had to know more. “Sans!” he didn’t answer to her beckoning, nor did he answer to Frisk running up to him and shaking him by the shoulder.

Suddenly, the world had become so much more frightening and dreadful. More so than war with humanity or the invaders whose impatient roars could be heard from Mettaton’s station. Time could be reset? Humans could reset it? Had Frisk done this before?

Did anything actually matter?

Every question terrified Undyne, and with every minute they went unanswered, she felt herself getting more and more frantic. She kept trying to get Alphys to talk, tried getting to Frisk and Sans, who were now whispering together, standing by the far wall. Mettaton had trouble focusing on his station.

Undyne embraced her friend, tears filling her eyes. “Alphys… Alphys, I’m scared… please, you have to tell me something! What’s going on? Did you know about this?” Alphys slumped over her desk and covered her face. “Alphys, please!”

Both perked their heads up when they heard Frisk’s voice

“I think we’ve got a few things to talk about, guys.”

Sans stood quietly behind her, nodding a little with his eyes still on the floor. ‘Look… Gaster just spilled the beans big time, and I think it’s about time everyone knew what was up, especially now that… well… we’re getting close to ending it.”

Undyne regained her composure. Alphys turned back around in her seat. Mettaton double checked his monitors and made calibrations to make sure the Overlord System could handle things on its own.

Everyone’s eyes were on the child and the skeleton. The latter spoke first.

“It’s time you all got caught up.”

 

The light behind them had faded into nothing, and the air ran afoul with the smell of sulfur and age-old rot. Every now and then, the ground would shake and a low, rumbling toll of thunder could be heard. Whether it was the sky above or tremors in the ground surrounding them, no one knew. Only a little bit of amber light trickled in from the end of the tunnel, reflecting off bloody bone and rock from around a bend. It seemed to take forever to reach it in the dark. Everyone’s breathing was hushed, lowered to a point where they could hear what faint noises came from the entrances: sounds of rumbling stone, ethereal shrieks, and the faint, distant howling of the heated winds of hell.

The wailing, howling, and thunderclaps got louder and louder as they came upon the fissure at the end of the tunnel. It was barely wide enough to admit a single person or demon, but through it, the searing hot air of the bottomless pit flew in their faces, blowing dust into fur, optics and onto the Doom Slayer’s visor. He stepped forward and put his hands on either side of the opening, planting his feet firmly into the ground as he prepared to push the gap asunder.

The Flower watched in awe at the Hell Walker’s might, doing his best not to gasp or exclaim, just barely whispering under his breath as he watched the Marine part the stony, fleshy divide. It was only now however, that he could sense it – his determination. Flowey had been so caught up in the intrigue surrounding the Slayer that he had never paused to take in that raw determination that seemed to emanate from his very being. It was incredible, unlike anything he had ever felt, surpassing even Frisk.

He was tempted to confront him then and there until he noticed something was wrong.

It was waning.

Tuning out the sound of the walls cracking and the flesh betwixt the stone tearing, he attuned himself to the Doom Slayer’s determination, like a doctor listening for a heartbeat. If he listened closely enough, if he strained, if he concentrated, he could feel its volume; its intensity. Slowly, ever so slowly but surely enough, that “pulse,” the seemingly endless well of determination sounded like it was drying up. He could almost see his gushing red soul slowly beginning to fade in color, and if he observed with utmost concentration, he could see floes of it oozing therefrom, now trickling down into smaller and smaller streams by the second.

Flowey realized that perhaps there wasn’t much time left. He needed to know.  
He needed to know if he could be himself again.

The barrier finally gave. Dust, gravel, and molding meat rained down from the precipice above the doorway, and the shore party walked through.

Flowey let them advance well enough ahead that he could maintain proper distance.

He felt strange. He couldn’t love. He couldn’t feel guilt. The only feeling driving him as stinging, painful self-awareness. Awareness of his own incompleteness. Awareness of his abomination, of his ruined and terrible form.

Now it no longer drove him to self-hatred.

It drove him forward.

“One last try… “

He let his roots out from the ground, and made his way into the infernal pit.

 

“In all the years of the Argent Program, none of us could have ever imagined this.”

“Dear Gods… this is madness…”

“So... this is it then, Doctor?”

“Yes, O king. Your eyes do not betray you. Behold, the citadel of Baphomet. The Seat of Power for the Great Ones, The Ancient Well, Vestibule for the Time Crux, and Home of the Icon of Sin… it is almost time.”

The clouds were torrid columns of toxic smoke, swirling evermore in eternal pillars from cones of cinder into the ashen sky. The color thereof was a sea of blood, and the mountains and valleys burned with rivers of molten rock. Terrible monoliths stood unyielding in the perpetual gust, held up by constant streams of raw Hell energy. Six encircled the Bloody Citadel, each bearing a rune that declared the name of each Great One, unknowable to the minds of mortals. Below them lay a Jagged Palace that had been cut into the mountain side, its thorny walls surrounded by a moat of magma. Black and terrible, its towers spewed out Hell energy into the floating obelisks. Each of them was adorned with stone skulls, not unlike the Blood Fountain at the gate of the Sanctum at Kadingir, and like it, all of them spewed forth great gouts of viscera, fueled by the perpetual evil that ran from the center: a massive tower adorned with an unmistakable visage:

Baphomet himself. The Icon of sin.

His last reaming heads stood eternal guard at the circular wall of the Citadel. All others had been destroyed. Here his essence lay dormant. Here, he dwelt in foul slumber, feasting upon the souls of the hated and unfortunate.

The Doom Slayer’s eyes narrowed. Resolve burned within him, though it was not as strong as before. He knew the fire within him had faded. There wasn’t much he could do to fuel it. He caught himself fighting with his own mind again. He had to tap into whatever will power he had left to keep an eye single to his objective, which he was beginning to doubt….

He couldn’t. He had to do this. He would not let everything go to waste.

Those thoughts urged him onward, though the others hesitated behind him.

Toriel’s fretfulness began to show in her terrified expression, and Asgore’s hand did little to push her forward. “H-How will we get there?! All I see around it is fire and brimstone!”

Gaster held a hand up in an attempt to quiet her fears. “My Queen, the way is obscured by the cliff we stand on. Come further down. You’ll see the way.”

The others joined him at the cliff’s edge, where he pointed down at yet another bone strewn bridge, sewn from chains and stone and the ribcage of a long-dead demon, down a rocky slope that led into the magma riverbank. Others of its kind floated, both intact and in pieces along other distant parts of the molten river. “The one below us is in good enough condition to cross. Come. We are well underway.”

Almost before he had finished speaking, the Doom Slayer had leaped down the mountainside, bounding in great strides toward the bridge, and without another word, his company followed him.

Flowey looked on, his determination kindling anew itself within him.

“Almost time indeed…”

He jumped down from the overhang that stood over the cavern entrance and followed them.


	22. Until It Is Done

“Okay… okay, but Gaster was saying what I think he was saying, right?”

Sans nodded before Undyne finished speaking. “They cut off when they went into that tunnel, but I think we heard enough. They pull this off and they could fix this whole timeline mess for good.”

That assurance did more to embolden everyone than anything else. Still, there were uncertainties, and no one was sure what to do.

Alphys managed to drum up a question. “Okay, but what’s our next move? This is big, Sans. This might need more than them.”

He was more than hesitant to re-enter the Dark Realm. “I dunno... what could we even do?”

“Look, I’m not gonna pretend I’m eager to go back in there, but if they need help, they need help.”

“Undyne, darling, they haven’t given us any sign that they need help yet.”

“I’d rather not wait until they do.”

Hoping she could help, Frisk piped up. “Why can’t we just send the probe in?”

“That’s a good way to lose a probe if a demon catches sight of it, kiddo.”

“There’s gonna be tons of them. Argent’s gone and this is all they have left.” Alphys turned to see Undyne nodding to the affirmative at her postulation. ‘They’re gonna need a lot more manpower.”

“Well so will I” Mettaton did not try to hide his exasperation. “Undyne and Sans leave and it’s just you and me down here to watch over Frisk and make sure things are stabilized in the event of a-“

Everyone jumped as yet another hair-raising shriek sounded from the station. They looked to see an imp, impatient from constantly waiting, had thrown itself against the defense grid, cutting itself to pieces before expiring. Some diodes had taken damage, and though the Overlord system was quick to intervene, it wasn’t instantaneous: several destroyed diodes, either burned or with claw marks on them, clung to the defense matrix or lay as ruined clutter on the ground.

“… in the event of a breach.”

The situation was uncertain. Two problems and only one solution was available at once. Alphys opted to take a look at the monitors. Though she could no longer directly track the group, perhaps she could put the probes to use with indirect observation, tracking hell energy levels and monitoring demonic activity. The others’ debating became white noise as she directed her focus towards the monitoring stations, switching between views from Agent, to Thermographic, to DT…

…DT.

When she saw it, she almost fell out of her seat.

“GUYS!” Everyone turned her way. “GUYS, HE’S THERE!”

“What?!” Sans and the others gathered around Alphys. “You don’t mean-“

“Oh, I do! Look!”

Undyne squinted at the somewhat faded DT signatures leading into the passageway. “You sure that’s not all just Doomguy?”

“That’s definitely not Doomguy’s. Look closer.” She pointed at the three main trials leading into the cave. “There’s Doomguy’s over to the right, and you can see VEGA’s over on the left… aaaannnd there. Look Third trail, practically right on VEGA’s tracks. It pops up just a little bit before the cave opens!”

Sans got back to his comm station. “Alright then, we’ll continue our little powwow in a second. We gotta touch base with Toriel and Asgore.”

“But what about Doomguy?” Everyone fell dead silent when Frisk asked her question. “Should we tell him? Should we tell Toriel and Asgore about him? We never settled on that.”

A brief pause and Sans gave the only answer he could think of. “One step at a time, kiddo. Okay?” He sighed a little as he faced the screen. “I really don’t know how we should go about that. I mean, Doomguy’s gonna do what Doomguy’s gonna do. I don’t know what we’re gonna do with Asriel… but hey, we can figure it out. At least we know the whole ‘bait’ gambit worked.

Frisk quietly nodded and didn’t say another word.

 

“The way is solid, but it is not safe…” Gaster carefully tiptoed around the many holes and pitfalls woven into the perilous bony bridge. “Watch your step. I cannot guarantee we will be alone much longer, and should you find yourself pinned or trapped, there’s only so much I can do for you.”

The Doom Slayer knew such perilous walkways intimately. Hell was, at best, a smoldering pile of twisted steel and misshapen rock woven around into haphazard loops and the occasional temple or sanctuary. He knew it well enough that he could traverse even unknown parts with little thought. He had slowed down to accommodate the others, doing his best to keep his mind blank, to avoid distraction.

He knew what he was here for.  
He knew what he was here for…

And then, Toriel’s comms rang up.

“Shore party, come in! Can you hear me alright?”

“Sans? Sans, what is it? What’s happening?”

“Your highness… It’s your son. We’ve got a trial on him. He’s following you.”

He knew what-

The royalty was struck dumb for a moment, as was Gaster. The news was unbelievable, but they couldn’t scare him off. If Sans was telling the truth, any enthused calling out or exclaiming would drive him away. They exchanged looks, and Asgore silently nodded to his wife. She replied quietly into the bracer.

“Do you have any idea how close he is? Can the probes see him?”

The Marine shut his eyes. He didn’t need to hear this.

“The probes can’t climb over the mountains. Weather pattern readings don’t paint a pretty picture up there. Anything we’d send would get blown away.”

They turned upon hearing VEGA speak. “He’s right. There’s reason we’ve never found this place. Weather in this plane of hell get extreme at altitude, hence why so many demons opt to live in the various subterranean complexes here, like at Titan’s realm.”

Alphys got them turned back to the bracers. “It’ll be on you guys from here on out. Toriel, Asgore, this might be when you guys wou-“

A foul shriek tore through the air.

The Doom Slayer turned to his left and caught the imp by its throat, crushing it into bloody, cartilaginous pulp between his fingers.

Everybody’s heads turned in every direction, and where they looked, they saw demons. Cacodemons floated towards them, hurling mucous and licking the teeth lining their gaping maws. Their projectiles slammed into the bony bridge, nearly missing imps who clambered out from under it. The Scourge opened fire on a group of Hell Knights flashing in front of them in bright showers of hellish light. Summoners burst one scene in similar displays, and set the flesh on the bridge alight with their fiery attacks.

It was an ambush.

VEGA’s cannon fired in computed precision, tearing asunder the skulls of knight and imp alike. The King saw their silhouettes darting and scrambling between the bone and brick underneath him, and as he skewered them with his trident from above, Toriel’s magic took control of the lava below, sending it upward in surges to scour clean whatever screeching spawn remained clinging to the cobbled bridge. Gaster was practically stationary. He raised his hands, and foes would simply disappear into some sort of pitch black abyss that sprung up in a second below them before disappearing with them in tow, their screams snuffed out by dark tendrils.

This is exactly what the Doom Slayer needed.

No distractions.

No pesky thoughts clouding his brain.

Rip and tear

An imp in front of you. Shotgun blast, Rack. Keep moving forward. Can’t let them swamp you here. Look back. Is everyone following? They just saw you. They’ll get the hint. Roaring. That’s a Baron. Turn back around. Send him a grenade. He just jumped. Jump back. Grenade hit an imp. Baron missed his punch. He’s hunched. Grab his horn. Break it. Bludgeon him. Step over his carcass and keep moving. More imps. Keep shooting. You’ve got plenty of shells. Five down already. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Summoner just popped up. Dodge his beam. Frag him. He’s stunned. Break his arm. Smash his damned face in. Move forward. More coming.

Tear… tear, rip and tear…

Pinkies. Spectres. Narrow room to dodge. Wave back, get the other’s heads up. Fire. Not having much effect at the front. They’re charging. Jump. Barely missed ‘em. They’re gonna reach the others. Hit them with more shells. They can take a lot. One’s stumbled. Run up to him. Tear his tail off. Cave his skull in. The other’s stopped, noticed you. Charge him before he charges you. Forget the gun. Grab his jaw. Rip the tooth, Send it into his eye socket. Dead. Turn back. More knights. They’re coming in fast. So are you. Kick that one’s knee in, he’s face level now. Yank his jaw off. Punch it into his skull. One behind you, screaming. Gaster’s got him. You can hear the tendrils whipping around. To your left. Another one’s gunning for you. That’s a hit. Hurts. You’re on the ground. Look up. He’s dead. King’s trident is sticking out of his chest. Push its corpse off you. King’s alongside you. Queen and VEGA too. Keep going. Keep killing…

Rip and tear until it is done.

And it would be done.

He was here now, and it would be done. No matter what else, he would have it. He would have it… even if it cost…

He hadn’t realized that he had stood still for five seconds while thinking about it.

He felt a tremendous force nearly crush him into the bridge. A cloven hoof was on him, pinning him down with enough force to crack the rock around him. The creature bellowed at him before grabbing his legs. The Praetor grabbed its wrist, digging his fingers into its flesh. It screamed as he pulled back. It was trying to bifurcate him. He was strong enough to hold it off, but not for long. He looked to his left and saw white streaks fill the air, tearing into the demon’s torse before the King sent his trident through its skull. He shoved it back off the prongs of his weapon, letting it tumble over in a mangled heap. The Marine took the King’s outstretched hand, standing up and dusting himself off a bit. For now, there was no more, though the shrieks and bellowing calls of their kin could be heard afar off.

“I’ve never seen you falter like that.”

The Marine turned to see VEGA staring at him incredulously. “I’ve monitored your combat effectiveness. I’ve watched you clear out entire facilities with little effort. I’ve never seen you just stay still in the middle of a fight.”

The Slayer turned his head back to the Citadel, but remained motionless.

“Is everything alright?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t turn back

Toriel walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Sir, I can tell something has been bothering you. Gaster hasn’t been so forthcoming, and I assume it’s for a good reason, but we can’t go on keeping all these secrets. This just almost cost you your life.”

Gaster put a hand to his face and turned away. The King saw and watched anxiously.

“Please, you have to tell us. What’s going on? I can tell when people are troubled. Does it have something to do with our mission?”

He didn’t move. Not an inch.

“It’s something only you and Gaster know about, I know that much… it’s about something that happened all those years ago isn’t it?”

The Doom Slayer turned his head just a little. VEGA narrowed his eyes.

Toriel could sense that perhaps she had walked the line far enough. “Whatever it is, I won’t pry any further. I just… I just think it might be time for you to take a break-“

He turned around to her eye to eye, and the flaming pits of hell seemed to freeze solid in his cold gaze. His face was rife with rancor. Death screamed from within his sunken, angry eyes. The King gripped his trident, ready to point it at him should he dare touch his wife. For an eternity, he stared her down with those wide, merciless, nearly-dead eyes, and she could not move or speak. Within the Doom Slayer, every drop of his blood boiled in anger and blooming suspicion. Just how much did she and Asgore know? What about VEGA?

He turned to see the Ghoul come out of his cowering to stare him back down with surprising vitriol.

He seemed to know exactly what the slayer was thinking. “I have told them nothing. This is your decision to make. I gave you my word, now leave her be.”

The Scourge’s eyes narrowed at Gaster’s defiance, and he would have taken a step towards him.

“DON’T you DARE try it! I said leave her be! Do you understand?!”

Those words were enough of a shock to snap him out of his seething rage. He took a second to look around. Everyone but Gaster wore fear and uncertainty in their countenance. The old Doctor stared him down with scolding decorum. Without another word, he gave him to diatribe of a lifetime.

You know better than this. Get a hold of yourself.

Turning back around towards the citadel, he wouldn’t suffer the stares any longer, He started for the great doors off on the other side, certain the others would follow, at least eventually. Shame stared him down, as did doubt, but his will was iron. Nothing could stop him now. Not when he was so close.

Nothing…

 __________________

Undyne waited with bated breath to hear Papyrus pick up the phone. The dialtone seemed to drone on forever before she heard his voice.

“Undyne?” She breathed out a sigh of relief as he answered. “hey, what’s going on?”

“Got a lot to explain, but we can save that for later. It’s getting late and I was just wondering if everything was still okay or if you needed me to come back.”

“I already told them you would take a bit longer. Some are supposing you’ve gone off and joined the shore party, but other than that, everything actually… well, things have calmed down a lot.”

“Whaddya mean?”

For a few seconds, Papyrus did not answer. His eyes were fixated. He lay on his back alongside the now resting crowd, and as he took in the wonderful vistas, he couldn’t help but be distracted. His ears were blithe to everything but the chirping of crickets around him, that is, until he heard Undyne again.

“Hey, earth to Pap!”

“Oh! Sorry, I was… I was just looking up is all.”

“Up?”

“Yeah… Undyne, the sun is down. Do you know what we’re seeing right now?”

“What?”

“Undyne, I’m looking at the stars.”

He took a second to pause and take the sight in again. An endless sea of lights spanned overhead. He reached his hand out, as if to touch them, to twirl them around and watch them swirl in the vast ether of the cosmos. “All we’ve had to see have been the crystals in the cave in Waterfall... I don’t think I could have ever imagined them looking like this. Old Gerson in his shop says he could point out every single crystal in that place, said at one point he had a name for each and every one. I don’t think he could ever hope to name all of these.”

Undyne let go of her nervousness over recent events, even if just for a moment. “Pap, are you serious?”

“There’s so many, Undyne. I lost count somewhere around two hundred. I can see a big stretch of them across the sky too, like a huge mush of them. It’s all blue and purple and white… Everyone’s so calm right now. Kinda hard to believe when you think about this afternoon.”

“Wow. I’m kinda tempted to head up there and join you, Pap.”

“Well hey, feel free! I certainly won’t stop you, as long as you’re not needed down there.”

It was then that she remembered their little conundrum. There were still no solutions to the Doomguy decision. The prospect of sending further aid to the shore party was still unresolved. She was needed for the moment, albeit for how much longer, she didn’t know. It was such a shame. What Papyrus was describing sounded absolutely beautiful.

“Guess I’m staying down here then. We’ve still got a couple issues to sort out.”

Papyrus sat up, sitting crisscross and hunching over a bit. “Like what?”

“Well… Doomguy’ apparently got a little score to settle. Looks like it’s really important to him. Remember my text?”

“Oh, about Gaster being back?”

“Yeah. Apparently, this isn’t the first time they’ve met. Gaster know what it is, and he seems really nervous about it. He tried confronting Doomguy, but he almost throttled him when he even suggested calling it off.”

“Yikes. What was it about?””

Undyne let out a quiet, exasperated sigh. “I dunno what to tell you, bud. I think we ought to save it for now.” There was only so much she could say. Maybe she’d text it to him later. “On top of that, those things on the other side of the fence are getting real uppity with us. Some have tried breaking out. Mettaton’s got good tabs on ‘em, but if any of us leave, this place will have virtually no protection from them if they decide to mount another attack, so I gotta stay put until we can be sure they’re not getting any reinforcements.”.

“In that case, I’m more tempted to come down there and join you.”

“Ah, don’t sweat it, Pap. You know they still need you up there.”

“Yeah… hey, how’s Frisk doing?”

“Oh, she’s in bed. Tucked her in about half an hour ago.”

“Still up!”

“Hmm?”

She turned to see the little girl standing over to her right, by the escalator. Her eyes were a little baggy, but it was apparent that 30 minutes wasn’t enough to keep a young child asleep. “hey Undyne.”

“Whatcha doin’ out of bed, punk?” Undyne tussled her hair as she stooped down and gave her a warm hug.

“It’s only been like, ten minutes. Is that Papyrus you’re talking to?”

“Frisk!” the skeleton’s upbeat tone brought a smile on the child’s face. “Is that you?”

Undyne took a knee and lowered the phone. “Yep! How’s it going up there?”

He took a deep breath. “Frisk, you were one lucky kid, you know that?”

“Hm?”

“Every night, you got to look up and see all this... all these stars, and the Moon… I’m just glad that we get to see it now too.”

Both Undyne and the Frisk felt smiles come to their faces. “Don’t mention it, pap.”

“Oh, I’ll mention it all I like, Frisk!” He chuckled a little, took another breath, and laid back down. “I’ll mention it as long as I get to see this…”

“There’s a lot more where it came fro-“

_**GGRRROOOOOOOAAAR** _

Frisk screamed and Undyne grabbed her and held her tight while facing the roar’s origin, dropping the phone.

Mettaton jumped to his screen to find and eradicate the culprit.

Papyrus was in a panic. “Frisk?! Frisk, are you still there?!”

“Oh no-!” The automaton rushed his hands to the Overlord System controls. A Baron was well on its way to tearing the laser defenses in the entrance apart. The diodes burnt its palms, but hellish fury overcame pain, and it screamed in rage as it tore the gates apart with its bare hands. Mettaton loosed one of the Overlord batteries, assuming control of its free-floating mode and leveling it with the New Home entryway.

The Baron turned and made eye contact, staring it down with utter contempt and snarling at it before those piercing green eyes were evaporated from its skull by the weapon’s searing power, baking most of the flesh on its upper torso into a blackened crisp. It fell, limp and dead, and its fellows behind it looked up from its corpse to face the Overlord battery.

Mettaton scowled. “Just so none of you get any ideas…”

He opened fire into new home, burning away whatever remained anywhere near the now vulnerable entrance. Alphys and Sans looked over from their station, unable to speak. Suspense had frozen them both

Undyne put Frisk down and hurriedly took to her radio. “All guardsmen on the lower levels, do you read?!”

“Yeah, we hear you loud and clear, Captian!” Lesser dog’s whimpering could be heard behind #2’s voice. “What’ve you got for us?”

“Any breaches down there? Demons starting to target you?!”

“No Ma’am! Should we be worried?”

“A little... we just had an attempted breakthrough out in the main entrance, Mettaton just had to vaporize the escapees. Just wondering if they’re trying other exits too.”

“No, in fact, we haven’t seen ‘em anywhere near out posts, and that update’s 10 minutes fresh. Looks like it’s still up to date – I don’t see any of them here.”

“Alright… okay, good. Just keep on your toes, okay?”

“Got it. Makes sense they’re all up there, I guess…”

“Why?”

“We hear them roaring like mad somewhere up by the podium. We can’t see anything from here, and neither can any of the other guys, but it doesn’t sound good.”

“Okay, I think I can check that from my end. Undyne out.”

“Copy that.”

Frisk followed her as she ran up to Mettaton;s station, picking up Papyrus’ hapless calling in the meantime. “Frisk, are you still there?! I hear Undy-!”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, one of them just tried getting through, Pap. It’s dead now, we should be safe.”

Undyne leaned over the Robot’s chair. “What’s the damage?”

“That entryway doesn’t look good…” He pointed out to the ravaged laser defenses. Four sad little beams were all that was left standing. “ That’s not going to hold much of anything. I’m gonna need to keep the overlord system directly in front of it to hold them off.”

“Great… what does it look like inside? My men said something about hearing them getting riled up near the oration platform.”

“Frisk! Frisk, what’s going on in there?!” Several monsters had awoken to Papyrus’ frantic calling. “Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”

“Yeah, no, we’re fine, we’re just having a little trouble down at the entrance.”

Papyrus had to try his hardest to watch his words around everyone as they began to shift their attention from the stars to him. He kept his voice down. “Is it under wraps? Are they under control?”

“Hold on…” she put it on speaker so he could hear Undyne and Mettaton clearly.

“Look, I can’t bypass Overlord now, what if something gets out while we look?”

“Just do it! It’ll only be for five seconds.”

With some chagrin, Mettaton complied. “Alright, let’s be quick.” He pulled up the New Home monitors.

“You said they’re checking it? Can you see anything, Frisk?”

Frisk’s eyes widened. “Papyrus…”

A massive throng of hellspawn was gathering on and around the Orator’s point. Hundreds of them were flocking thereto. Multiple screens showed that Hayden’s original portal was still open, though no demonic escorts had run through it, nor the Crucible’s doors. Hell had already established its own proper link, now swirling in a terrible vortex above the rostrum. From it, more of them passed, to and from Hell in an open traffic. The screen was up for another five seconds before Mettaton reverted it.

“Alright, I’ve got to keep an eye on the entrance from here on in.”

“That doesn’t look good…”

“Frisk, what are they talking about?” Papyrus was now hunched, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

“I-I don’t know what to tell you, Papyrus.”

“Hey….” Undyne hugged the little child again. “It’s alright, we’ll take care of this. Let me see the phone, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Here. Let’s get you back in bed.” She gently led her back upstairs. With Mettaton having switched back from the monitors, the compound had gone eerily quiet. Each wall was just as much a silent bulwark as it was a scrutinizing observer.

“Undyne you still there?”

“Yeah, I hear you Pap.”

He did his best to restrain himself, despite the ever-increasing inquiry burning in his mind. “Okay, I’ll call later. I’ve got questions, but I think they can wait.”

“Sounds good.”

“bye.”

He pocketed the phone and rolled out a comforter from the Snowdin Inn. He lay back down, on his side this time. Soft as the blanket was, the stony ground still protruded out in places, but he was tired enough not to care about them. A light breeze rustled the grass around him. Tired as his body was, his mind was still wide awake. None of what he heard sounded good, and there was only so much he could make out. Things were always scarier the less you knew about them.

He looked up at the star-filled sky, then back to the pit that led into the underground.

“I know you guys can do it…”

He closed his eyes, and tried his hardest to fall asleep. He wasn’t the only one having trouble that night.

“Undyne, I can’t sleep.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” The Captain sat on the bed, near Frisk, gently rubbing her scalp and running loving fingers through her hair. “I know that was scary, but we’ll get through this.”

The child hesitated for a few moments. “Could you stay here with me?”

Undyne smiled warmly. “Of course.”

 _____________________

“Great…” Asgore grumbled a bit between exasperated breaths as he extracted his trident from the rubble, The Doom Slayer following suit as he dug his fingers out from underneath a boulder. “There’s no way this is coming apart. The passageway is blocked for good.”

Toriel paced a little behind her husband. “The door is only so far away. Perhaps we can find a detour by another bridge?”

The caustic call of static made everyone jump, and suddenly VEGA’s communicator lit up. “Uh, Base to Shore Party, we’ve got some trouble on our end.”

It was Alphys. “Shore party, we read you. What kind of trouble?”

Sans’ worried voice brought the others closer to the AI. “The kind that involves near breakouts and almost busted defenses. Just how close are you guys to finishing this up?”

Toriel put a hand to her chin. “That depends. How much distance to the nearest intact bridge?”

VEGA shook his head. “I’ve done a preliminary scan of the surrounding area before our descent. Nearest intact bridge is about a mile away. It’s not terribly distant, but we’re quickly running out of time. That’s a mile extra that we do not need.”

“The automaton is right. The few times I’ve been here in person, I’ve seen just how long of a trek it will be to make it all the way to each bridge.”

“Whatever you guys gotta do, do it fast.” Alphys ran several diagnostics on the tether as she spoke. “Overlord System’s got us covered for the moment, but there’s hundreds of them in New Home right now. You guys have to hurry. Base out.”

The King’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t like the sound of that. We ought to get going.”

“Wait…” the old ghoul put a hand up, stopping everyone in their tracks. “Alongside these passageways lie the conduits through which Hell brings its energy. Said conduits are spacious tunnels, designed to be upkept by demons who maintain their efficiency, performing rites and the like. They should give us passage to-”

He then looked to the walls.

“Oh no.”

“Doctor, what is it?”

“My Queen, we must turn back. Make haste towards the next bridge. I don’t think our friend here will be able to endure the conduit passage.”

“Why?”

“There’s conduits here, but-“

 

To their left, they heard what nearly sounded like an explosion or an earthquake, sending loose rock and stalactites raining down upon the floor. They looked and saw the Hell Walker slamming himself into the nearby wall, which caved and gave under each magnificent blow. They could hear his breath, like a snarling beast, hissing from within his helmet as he retreated, lined himself up, and thundered towards his target, bashing his shoulder into the crumbling stonework. Rusting iron bars near the top creaked and groaned in protest as the wall under it pulled them apart. He sent himself into the wall again, and again, and again until finally, in a thunderous noise of cracking stone and screaming steel, he broke through. The other side was dark, but one could see walls, glistening with blood, glimmer from within.

“I personally think he’ll be alright.”

In making his coy reply, Asgore did not see the Praetor’s seething composure. He didn’t have time to take a long detour. He couldn’t afford any more blows to his resolve. The quicker he got this done, the better. He didn’t even look back as he jumped into the tunnel and sped forward.

“… Matter of fact, looks like he’s just ready to get this over with.”

The Ghoul’s countenance was visibly fallen, but he went forth nonetheless. “Then let us follow him. We’re getting very close now.”

The Royalty quickly followed suit as Gaster entered the breach, but VEGA paused for a moment, scanning the area.

“Just what was he so worried about…”

For a few seconds, he could pick up nothing. Perhaps the old ghoul was simply crazy or paranoid after all this time stuck in Hell.

Or maybe he wasn’t

He picked up a very familiar signature from within the fissure.

“Oh no…”

His optics recognized some equally familiar insignia scrawled onto what was now a small piece of rubble.

“VEGA?” He could hear the Queen calling out for him. “VEGA, are you well? Are you coming with us?”

“Yes, I’ll be just a moment.”

He overturned the small stone to see the Argent Sigil.

“Just a moment…”

He dropped the stone and made his way inside.


	23. Weeping and Wailing...

Flowey clambered through the rubble left behind by the Hell Walker. Fear mingled with anticipation as he beheld the Praetorian’s handiwork. That much raw power was not to be trifled with. For what little he had heard or knew, he took immense caution. Demons were one thing, and one determined child was another, but a man who could plow through hellish hordes and go on to smash in a wall with his shoulder was a whole new ball game. As he approached the entrance to the now ruptured conduit, he made sure every slithering step remained silent, taking note of any loose rubble that would give even the slightest hint of his position.

He could feel something dragging him down and looked back to see what was clinging to one of his tendrils, raising it up somewhat to get a better look.

Flowey cringed at the grimy piece of demonic flesh wetly clinging to one of his roots: a strip of muscle or perhaps a shredded intestine.  “Ugh…” He flung it away in disgust before pressing forward.

Much as he was tempted to pull a few trademark “games” with the Praetor, he managed to suppress his urges. His determination was not only overshadowed by that of the Doom Slayer, but it was pointed in a slightly different direction. That sword of his was more important than what any potentially fruitless games could yield. If he could not persuade himself with nonexistent compassion he could persuade himself with reason.

He could persuade himself with determination.

Every stone brought him closer to that blade. The darkness was near impenetrable in the old conduit, but he was not dissuaded. The Ghoul’s explanations only added fuel to his fire.

“A realm on the very edge of all time…”

‘There’s reason human souls remain in our plane for so much longer…”

Those words made him wonder. As much as he denied it, he was still Asriel… or was he? His soul was not destroyed. It was simply sent away.

When he played that one last “game” with Frisk, what happened? Those souls were his. He was himself again, wasn’t he? In fact, he was himself again for quite a while afterward, but why? What did those souls do? They couldn’t remake him, they couldn’t simulate him, or what parts of him had been lost. His soul, his actual soul, had come back, if only for a little while.

The unanswered questions set his footsteps ablaze. He scrambled through the tunnel towards the next faint point of light, a scarlet glimmer that seemed a lifetime away. He could hear noise coming from up ahead: The shore party had probably run into more demons. All the better. They wouldn’t hear his quickening pace scurrying through the wet, viscera soaked gravel that lined the old conduit.

The Flower finally reached the bend, and craned around it a little to see the source of the clamor. He knew well what Toriel and Asgore could do, and their combined fire magic, sweeping about the room in flaming tendrils searing anything in their path did little to impress him. Though interesting, Gaster’s use of… whatever that black stuff was did not tickle his fancy and VEGA’s armament, though imposing, was little more than what he had seen Mettaton do.

It was then that he saw it, a little further off to his left, catching his eye with a bright flash. The man in green, holding one of those beasts by its throat. It struggled for just a moment before the marine disemboweled it, running it through before flinging its dying body off his blade. Three more tried swarming him, but all were cut down like grass before the mower’s sickle with one fell swoop of the man’s glowing sword. He leapt and bounded across the room in a display of unparalleled agility. From each of the broken columns standing in the middle of the room to the catwalks above and around the room’s perimeter, he strode to and fro with a sort of violent grace, mowing down the lesser beasts with a shotgun in one hand and bifurcating anything that came too close with impunity.

Flowey was not sure if he was feeling jealousy or admiration. Memories of his old life, idolizing old heroes in comics and tall tales, came back to him en masse. He almost felt like a child again watching this man go about, dispatching those evil beasts with ease. Part of him wished to join in on the action, yet his better judgement restrained him. There was no telling how this man would react to him, and the last thing he needed was for either the man’s boot crushing him, or for those idiots….

His parents….

To find and catch him.

It was all over in a matter of moments. Flowey hid betwixt the partially organic tubing that lined the walls. They left, and though he made sure to keep tabs on them, he took a second to feel the tubing, composed of what felt like cartilage and bone and rock. It felt empty, like it hadn’t been used, yet it hadn’t rotted away yet. They had only been recently vacated. Curious a matter as it was, the Flower dismissed it, and followed the others into the next passageway.

The others could not see him. He needed to see the man in green alone. He knew well enough, and felt well enough despite his inability to love, that killing them would not serve him well once he became Asriel again.

The Flower paused for a moment under the doorway. It dawned on him how odd It was to think of such things so coldly and so clinically.

He got over it and pressed on.

He had to find a way to separate them.

Closer and closer he crept until he could hear them again. More of that tubing lined the corridors, giving him somewhere to hide while he listened in. Their voices were muffled to mere whispers. He needed to get closer. They had come to an azure doorway. The man in green stood by with a similarly colored skull in hand. On and on, the Flower crawled along the fleshy conduit until they were almost close enough to touch. Now their voices were clear. Asgore was speaking. His hushed words caught Flowey’s ears.

“He was brought back with DT, according to Dr. Alphys.”

“Well, not fully.” Toriel stepped aside to let the Doom Slayer pass. He inserted the skull into a central indentation in the door, and it exploded in a flash of blue light before the door began to open, spinning and grinding on dry stone. “It brought part of him back.”

“Yes, something about him 'not being all there' or 'not being himself?'” Gaster stepped close to the slowly opening door. Arcs of blue energy sparked in the spiked fissure.

“Yes… “ Asgore’s tone was hushed and sullen. “I was wondering if DT could bring everything back? You said it was what binds humans to our realm for so long… perhaps Alphys did not use enough of it?”

“I have yet to find out everything from Dr. Alphys experiments, but you did cite her use of DT on dying monsters and the rather… unpleasant results that followed. DT will not be enough, no.”

The Flower looked inside the now opened room. Once again, it was dark, but even more so now than before. There was no glimmer of blood or anything else to indicate what lay inside. Soon as the Doors were opened all the way, the man in green quietly walked inside. He did not seem to want to hear anything the Doctor or the King and Queen had to say anymore.

The old Doctor looked in and heard nothing. The sound of the Praetor’s footsteps got quieter and quieter. Palpable dread washed over him anew. “Our friend won’t wait. We must follow.”

“You’ve been very forlorn, Doctorr.” Toriel looked him over as he tried to conceal his gloom. “I don’t suppose this has more to do with what the Doom Slayer is up to?”

“Tori, let’s not-“

“Let’s just go.” He disappeared into the darkness.

The other two looked on with worried scrutiny before entering themselves VEGA in tow.

The Flower tried to creep in and follow them, but no sooner did they step foot inside than did the door slam shut behind them. He looked all around. There had to be another way in. his eyes scurried in every direction until they landed again on the tubing, which continued through the wall ahead and into the now sealed room. He felt them with his tendrils, noticing the way the cartilage gave under pressure. That was his ticket in. Each rubbery ring was separated by some sort of flimsy connective tissue. Within seconds, he had broken them apart, and was tunneling through the fleshy network.

 

“Great… can’t see a thing in here. VEGA, can you light the way?”

Toriel turned to see his glowing optics facing her. “Sadly, no. When I first occupied this body, my objective was to trim down as many superfluous features as possible. I can detect no real lighting functions, and if this chassis indeed had any, I might have gotten rid of them already.”

“Hold on…” With a flick and a rushing sound of kindling flame, a small sphere of fire magic lit up in the palm of Asgore’s hand. “Tori, go ahead and light yours up. We’ll need all we can get down here.”

“Right.”

As arcane flame sprouted from Toriel’s hands VEGA ran another diagnostic on his targeting systems. “Wait a minute… I believe this cannon should be able to provide enough light if I redirect power from several sources. Here, I won’t be needing the flight batteries just about yet.” White light came forth from his arm, which pointed down a smooth, stone ground. It appeared to run in somewhat of a single pathway; VEGA’s light cut off at what seemed to be the edge of an elevated walkway. Some old bloodstains could be seen dotted wherever the AI shined his light

“Strange…”

The Doom Slayer looked on, felt the Crucible and Siphon at his hip, and decided he wasn’t going to go off borrowed light. The weapons came off his belt with an audible _click_.

Gaster heard and gasped just a little. “Wait, no! Don’t use those! They give off just enough argent energy to-!”

The minuscule patches of light offered by the others was overpowered by the blood red luminescence coming from the Marine’s weapons. The pathway was now clear, though any and all signs of blood were overpowered by the bright scarlet. The Crucible awoke what latent energy remained in the conduit, setting the room ablaze with crimson light. Shadow clung to the edges of every form in the room, including what looked like continuous cobbled stonework that lined the irregularly shaped walls that stretched on forever.

Some began to shift a little.

Gaster froze.  “Dear God….”

The “stones” faced the shore party.

They were people. Bleeding, withered, people, all stuck permanently to those walls by bindings of rancid flesh and stringy sinew. They were silent for a moment as they rose from their shivering prostration to set their hollow eyes on the shore party.

And they began to scream

A million hands sprouted up into the air, all convulsing, all twitching, all reaching towards the shore party. A million screams pierced the humid, iron smelling air. They took no breaths. Their long maws were stuck open, an ear-splitting, gargling shriek escaping their croaking throats. A million souls, all imprisoned, all eternally tortured, reaching out, pleading the others to join them.

The old Doctor shouted above the wretched wailing **. “EVERYONE RUN! RUN FOR THE DOOR!!”**

A scream lodged itself in Toriel’s throat. It erupted from her as Asgore suddenly yanked her by the arm, running for the distant exit, VEGA and Gaster close behind. On and on they ran through a gauntlet of miserable madness, the air itself shaking with the sound of a million tortured cries.

 **“DON’T LET THEM TOUCH YOU!”** Gaster could barely find the breath to speak with as he ran. **“KEEP MOVING!”**

Everyone ran, none faster, at least for the moment, than the Doom Slayer.

Every second of the ear-splitting scream snagged his conscience like hooks, each one digging violently into a buried memory of the past.

Feeling those chains, summoned cold, tight, and unforgiving around his wrists and ankles....

With every ounce of his might, he strained to wipe the thought away, but every cry from the desolate and destitute below and all around him burned his tormented conscience like an iron brand. Like the desperate hands reaching out of the pit, more memories came grasping at him, bogging him down and slowing his pace as the others began to gain on him. Every scream was too familiar.

Like the screams he was forced to hear as Hell lay waste to billions...

The world shook around him, and the screams became droning that threatened to draw blood from his ears. The others were passing him now. The bones in his legs were swiftly liquefying, and his lungs burned as if in a sulfurous mist.

The unholy sight, brought forcibly to his face by the Hell Priests' machination, of untold scores being mauled, torn apart by demonic hunger and rapacious appetite...

... or that of... _him_ being twisted and torn, his remains desecrated, and his soul entrapped with unholy power to be remade into the One. A terrible avatar of all that wrought suffering, whispered lies, and harbored malice.

The Icon of Sin.

Brought to terrible life, rampaging across Argent, wiping away the last scraps of hope from every remaining soul as the Wraiths were brought to their knees.

 

_It's my fault..._

 

Running became jogging, then walking, then limping. Breathing became hyperventilation, The others had still not noticed.

 

_All my fault... all my fault..._

 

Gone was the strength in his legs. Gone was the might in his arms. Gone was the valor of his soul.

He hunched over and prepared for the end: the ultimate price for his ultimate iniquity.

 **“NO!”** Toriel tried rushing back to aid the fallen Praetorian before she felt Asgore’s hand clasp her wrist.

“Tori, we can’t stay here!!” Asgore strained as he tried lifting the heavy stone gate with his remaining free hand, VEGA and Gaster just barely managing to move the massive door themselves.

**“Neither can he!”**

The King looked back and saw their friend hunching over as the screaming damned reached out for him. Toriel was right. He gritted his teeth and released her. “Come back quickly! We need all the muscle we can get!”

Without hesitation, she raced back towards the nearly prostrate man. Looking back as she ran she could see he was about a few dozen meters from the door, at least as long as the throne room.

She shook him by the shoulders but he wouldn’t budge. The arms got closer. Some of them were trying to clamber over the edge of the pit, trying to escape their fleshy bonds. She could hear them scratching, clawing their way up, finger bones grinding against the roughhewn stone.

“ **You must get up! They’re going to take us all! We can’t stay here!”** Tears began to accompany her pleas as convulsing faces began to peek out from over the ledge.

Suddenly, his eyes shot back up at her. She jumped back as she saw the maddening horror that filled them. His hands were shaking. The whites of his eyes were utterly bloodshot. They shut tightly, and he grimaced as he slowly got back up on his feet. His legs had barely enough power to keep him upright, and he stumbled a little as he shambled back upon his feet.

Toriel held the Marine up as he righted himself. “Come on, the exit is right there…”

He looked up and saw it again. This time it actually seemed to be in reach. His first steps forward were hobbled, but the more he looked at the door, the more he could feel vitality refilling his weary extremities. Faster and faster he ran until the door was nearly in reach. Toriel let go of him as he sped up, on and on until they were nearly there.

Then, the Scourge’s eyes widened in horror.

The Crucible and the Siphon. He could not leave them behind.

He ran back and sped towards them.

“No! Where are you going?!” Gaster cried out after the Marine as he sped back to where the damned were crawling.

VEGA scanned his destination. “It’s his weapons! He won’t leave without them!”

The tortured were reaching out for the Crucible and Siphon. Their fingers were just barely brushing up against them.

Oh no you don’t.

The Doom Slayer dove down and swiped his weapons from the hands of the tormented souls who now renewed their efforts to bring him in with them. He took what was his, latched them onto his belt, and did not look back. He felt numb now. Numb to everything. The ringing had become silence, and the only thing he could hear among the constant screaming of the damned and the call of his comrades was his own breath, echoing rhythmically in his helmet.

Then, a cracking noise.

The floor beneath him collapsed. A great section of the path split longitudinally from behind and in front of the Doom Slayer. The aft end sank down, creating a steep downward incline into the ditch. The marine slipped down into the fleshy, writhing pit. He grabbed at the stone, but the souls in the gutter had already taken hold of him, steadily pulling him down in with them.

It can’t end like this

Not when I’m so close….

He thrashed about, kicking his pained captors while clawing at the stone path, leaving marks as he was slowly dragged into the mire. The stone screeched in protest as his metal fingers dug in and set loose sparks on their way down. Hands made their way up his legs, then his torso, and now, some were covering his face. He tried pulling them away, but with every hand he pried from his helmet, five more grasped his arms. He could resist them no longer. On and on they pulled him down until he could feel the stone under him no more. At last, he reached his right hand out, sticking up among many others, desperately reaching for something to hold onto.

It was over.

 

Suddenly, a searing heat bore down upon him. He could feel their hands loosing and falling away, their wailing intensifying with the heat. The hands covering his eyes were lifted, now somehow set ablaze. Their arms were loosed from his neck. He turned all around and saw his captors now burning amidst a blazing inferno.

He looked up and saw Asgore with his hand outstretched.

**“JUMP!!”**

Time froze for a moment. The Praetor’s eyes strained. Every sinew in his legs burned. Sweat greased the inside of the Praetor suit, and a stinging mixture of sweat and tears blurred all vision. He could feel the prisoners’ arms letting go of him, snapping away like fraying cords in a failing rope. Every loosening arm brought his ever higher. He squatted down a little. Everything in him ached, and his already blurred vision clouded further with tears as what little energy he could muster seemed to combust in his thighs and calves, sending him upward. He grabbed Asgore’s hand and with more teeth gritting, breath stealing strain than he had felt from the time he had re-awoken from his entombment, got back up on the platform.

On they ran for the door. The other three had their hands full of it, barely able to budge it farther than a few inches off the ground. Asgore and the Hell Walker joined in, and with enough strain to bring the Marine down to the depths of unconsciousness, the door was lifted open. Toriel, VEGA, and Gaster scrambled underneath as the remaining two held on, switched from one side of the door to another, and let go, letting the full weight of the stone slab crash down upon the floor, cracking it far and wide.

The screaming was muffled behind thick rock, but no one wanted to hear it anymore. Everyone scrambled a certain distance away to what looked like a breach in the wall leading to the outside. In a few moments time, they had cleared the opening, and those miserable cries could reach their ears no more.

They looked around past the breach and saw a clearing. Some sort of ritual was once performed here, perhaps to refine or somehow manage the Argent energy that once flowed through here. At the center was some sort of circular dais with a pentagram and multiple other runes engraved into its face. The whole room was circular, upheld by rocky pillars at least seven or more stories high. Chains and cages could be seen hanging from the ceiling. One wall was busted open, revealing a clear view of the inner citadel. Light from the bloodied sky poured in through the breach, filling the entire room. What they did not see was the tubing from the other part of the conduit that erupted in some places along the ceiling. There, from between some more cartilage and rock, the Flower quietly emerged.

He wondered to himself as he looked on the weary shore party. “What was all that noise? Must have been a whole lot of those demon things…”

He crept along the walls, taking care not to fall as he reached out for one of the cages. Its chain dangled lower than the others, and from here, he could listen in a little closer. Weaving his way through dusty old bones, he carefully dangled from the bottom bars of the cage, lowering himself as far as he could go so he could more clearly hear them.

 

“Where’s he headed off to?” Toriel wiped the sweat from her brow as the Praetor limped away to the other side of the room.

“Just let him be.” She turned upon hearing Gaster’s voice. “That was something very personal to him. That’s why I insisted we take a detour. Your majesty, we should not have seen that, much less him.”

“Who were they, Doctor?”

VEGA spoke up from behind them. “I saw the Argent Sigil when we entered.”

No one spoke a word.

“I think we all know who they were, Your Majesties.”

They heard a shuffling from the other side, and saw the Doom Slayer collapsed with his hands on his knees, facing the outside. His head was bowed. They could hear him slowly breathing, his inhaling and exhaling echoing slightly in the empty chamber.

Asgore sighed a little. “Well then, let’s just drop it. Everyone leave the Praetor alone for a moment.” He hunched over and sat down, taking a moment to catch his labored breath. “I think we all ought to rest for a minute. Just how far until we’ve reached the Crux, Doctor?”

“It is not afar off. I can see the Central tower from here. Can you see it, O King? Just out of the breach, ascending into the sky. We will be done soon enough. All of Hell will topple with the time crux. All our worries, about the invasion, about resets, about everything, will be gone with it… except of course-“

“Except for our son.”

“… yes, O Queen. We… we certainly cannot forget him. I just thought that perhaps="

"Perhaps what?""

Gaster took some time to gather himself. Courage and cowardice clashed in his troubled psyche, crumpling his face into a scowl, and burning his breath into a hissing sigh. "Before we go any further.... we need to talk about him."


	24. ... And Gnashing of Teeth

_And so, they would follow him, led by the mark on his visage, his Night Sentinels, a wall between our might and the power of the Wraiths.-_

“Whatcha reading, Undyne?”

She righted her posture as Alphys approached “Hmm? I thought you were up monitoring the mission.”

“Well, at this point we can’t really see them anymore. Sans has comms covered for now, so I decided to see what you’re up to.” She looked at the luminescent device in her friend’s hands. “Reading up on something?”

“Yeah…” She flipped through the previous pages. “These are the UAC’s transcripts of the Corrax tablets. Stuff’s _crazy._ It’s not even a complete record, but what’s there is just… haunting.”

“What’ve you read so far?”

“Just more stuff about the Sentinels. It talks about the Wraiths and their power, how they kept Hell back so long, all sorts of crazy stuff. It even talks about Doomguy and how he….”

She stopped. Both her and Alphys were thinking the same thing.

“What are we supposed to tell them, Al?”

“I dunno… I just kind of blurted it out that there wasn’t gonna be a peaceful solution, but in retrospect, I think she knew that from the start.”

“Yeah, well, you and I both know that ended up differently. Both Asgore and Frisk knew it was gonna be a ‘one way or another’ deal. Only Doomguy knows the full picture here. I still think that we should-“

Sans’ voice startled them both

“Yeah, guys? …Alright, I’ll have her over. Alphys?”

“Yeah?”

“Shore party needs to speak to you. Toriel and Asgore. They say it’s urgent.”

“Okay, hold on.” Her toe claws skittered on the linoleum, echoing through the quiet compound. She tapped the holo panel on her receiver. “King Asgore? What did you need?”

Something was off. Asgore’s calm tone was a very transparent façade covering frayed nerves. Gaster stood behind him, staring off into nowhere. “Alphys, are you there?”

“I’m here, sir.”

“Everything still going well on your end?”

“Yes sir, and you?”

“We’re, uh… we’re hanging on, Doctor Alphys. We’re hanging on. We just- we’re getting quite close to the Crux but… we must also search for our son.”

“Okay.” Her heart was skipping beats. It was all too topical.

“We have agreed among ourselves that Gaster and VEGA will accompany the Doom Slayer. Me and Toriel have opted to look for Asriel with what time we have left.”

Flowey’s eyes lit up and couldn’t blink. That was everything he needed to hear. He immediately set his gaze upon the Doom Slayer, hoping that his chance would come soon enough. Everything in him just wanted to tackle the Slayer, find a way to access his power. That pile of goop and his tin friend would be hard to lose. He had to act fast…

“I’m going to need you to send whatever probes you’ve got here. We’ve consulted with VEGA, and he says that weather should be calm enough for you to fly the three left near the Necropolis to us. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Lord Asgore. Sans, you’ve got controls.”

“I’m on it…”

Several of the wafer thin holo screens lowered to eye level, each displaying their own imagery. On one, the old entrance to the Blood Citadel, DT signature filter still overlaid thereon. The others looked on towards the tumultuous amber sky, many mountains stricken with endless flashes of lightning. Sans’ small hands alternated between hovering over the three-dimensional controls and touching each monitor, allowing him to consolidate control between all three.

**PRB/CNTRL.CONFIG/NO.7458B-NO.**

**CONSOLIDATE COMMAND_ORIENTATION/DESTINATION: GRID_SHTO36U3**

**EXECUTE?**

**YES_ NO_**

With a tap of his fingertips, each probe looked towards that same foreboding mountain.

“Alright, probes should be on their way. Windshear’s beating them up a little, but probe speeds are maintaining about eighty knots.”

“Excellent, thank you, Sans.”

“Anything else you need, sir?”

“No, Alphys, we’ll be fine…. Just keep tabs on any DT signatures you find and relay their location to us.”

Asgore could hear the small actuators in VEGA’s finger as the Ai tapped him on the shoulder. “Your bracer should be in sync with the home module. As long as they can send you coordinates, you should be able to find him. They should show in its holo-display.”

Flowey could felt cold all over, though the room was fuming hot with hell’s heat. “Running out of time… got to think of something…” he thought to himself. He saw cracks in the breached wall, just to the Doom Slayer's right. They led from the edges of the breach to the top of the room, where some of the stone had fallen away entirely, letting in dull beams of hellish light.

“Good… we’ll see you when we’ve found him, dear.”

“Yes, Lord Asgore…”

“Shore party out.”

Asgore lowered his bracer. For a while, the only thing anyone could hear was the wind quietly howling and thunder rolling off in the distant mountaintops. He took a look at the Doom Slayer, who still sat at the edge of the breach, hunched over, hands on his head

“How much time do you think he’ll need, Doctor?”

“He’s strong, but he’ll need a few more minutes. That was not an easy thing for him to see.”

“Right…”

“We’ll go our separate ways shortly. I’ll be consulting VEGA in the meantime.”

“Of course. Toriel?”

“Yes?”

“I think you and I might need to talk too.”

All the while, the Praetorian remained still. He felt light headed, heat flashes tormenting him incessantly. He was dizzy, and even sitting down, he could feel his body swaying just a bit. Every time he would droop too low in any direction, he would flinch to right himself like a drunken man, or one deprived of sleep. His mind was numb, but only in the same way a maimed man lying on the ground in shock could not feel his severed leg. His consciousness had been bleeding halfway to death, now in total shock. He fought the screaming away, tried to let it go, get it out of his head, but such things have a way of gripping a guilty mind. He was to blame for their unending agony. His selfish and shortsighted folly had damned them to eternal torture. He betrayed them. He betrayed them and there was nothing he could do to undo his treachery, for the wages thereof were, and always would be, suffering.

Whispered voices from afar behind him mingled with his tortured thoughts. Did he deserve to be rewarded? To sneak his way out of consequences? Did he deserve another chance?

“How will we find him, Gorey?”

“They’ll send us any signatures they find. We’ll find him/”

No. he didn’t deserve it.

“How will we bring him back? Doctor Alphys said he didn’t-”

“I don’t know….”

They did.

“I miss him… I miss Chara… “

“I do too, Tori.”

Of course, they had done wrong too. One had fled her responsibilities and let her people down. The other’s orders had killed several innocents.

“It’s been so many years… what will he say when he knows what we’ve done? Gods, he wouldn’t want to even look at us…”

“He’ll understand, Tori-“

Her sniffling was easily heard bouncing against the walls. “I can barely tolerate what I’ve done myself. Asgore, you should have seen the look on everyone’s faces when we paraded through the old home, they were so disappointed-“

But that was after the fact. This is what drove them to transgression in the first place. That one, dark, horrible day. That was not their fault.

“You remember the day I made my mistake.”

“Gorey-“

“That day still haunts me. I’ve been there too. Every time a new human fell, I felt that day’s regrets as if I had just watched you leave….”

They deserved the one chance that now, only he could give them.

Dizziness still lightened the Doom Slayer’s head, and his gaze wavered somewhat as he stood up, maintaining eye contact with the Obsidian Gate. For eons he had been withheld from it. The demons had enticed him, led him to a false clue, and trapped him. That day, every epoch of his work, his search, seemed to slip between his fingers as fickle, bloody sand. The tools of his justice taken away, his body sealed in stone, and all his hopes dashed seemingly forever. Now he stood here. His sword and shield back in his hands, his armor back on his hide, and the last head of his adversary, the last chance he had to reclaim what had been taken from him, staring him in the eyes.

“I’m so sorry I did that to you-“

“I understand….”

It was so close. Just a few moments of running would bring him there.

“… but we cannot tarry long, Toriel. I know we have so much to talk about-”

“I know….”

He didn’t need to hear this anymore… maybe he could just start running….

Gaster’s calling echoed through the empty chamber. “Your Majesties, VEGA and I have finished consulting. I think it’s nearly time we went underway.”

“Of course. Toriel, are you ready?”

Their problems are their own. Stop thinking about it. Stop listening. Just go. It’s right there. Right in front of you.

“I think… I think I will be.”

VEGA sounded more subdued than usual. “I am in direct communication with the probes. If I pick something up with my sensors, I will let the two of you know.”

“Okay… so where will you be going?”

The answer loomed over him, taunted him with its presence. The Citadel of Baphomet…. Last chance…. Only chance.

“Our route will take us to the Citadel. I only pray for your safety wherever your search takes you.”

“Then we’ll be off. Asgore?”

“Right behind you.”

Just go

The cadence of steel steps and ominous humming replied. “And behind us, O Queen… old friend, are you…”

The others noticed his hesitation, Toriel foremost. “Doctor, are you alright?”

**Now.**

He ran.

He left them in the dust. Full speed. No more thinking. Just do it. Do it now, or you will regret it forever. Just go. Forget about them.

He nearly tripped as he came to a screeching halt. He heard something. Rock tearing, crashing down. Cracking and crumbling and falling. Falling right over the entrance to the old conduit chamber. He looked back and saw it. A great portion of the wall was tearing away along a crack that ran alongside one of the pillars that lead to the columns surrounding him. Great clouds of rusty orange dust billowed skyward. Did he do that? If any one of them had been hurt because of him…

That’s when he noticed tendrils retreating from the cracks.

 ** _“Is everybody alright?!”_** Asgore boomed, swiping some dust off his shoulders

Toriel’s eyes scoured the rubble, which now covered the exit. It wasn’t insurmountable, and it injured no one, but everyone’s ears, including hers, were still ringing. “What _was_ that?!”

_“You all stay back….”_

All eyes traced the sound to the top of the rubble

_“He’s mine.”_

Asgore nearly felt his heart stop as he saw the Flower perched upon the ruined stone. “Asriel…”

Flowey ran away.

The Doom Slayer could not pry his eyes from the ruinous chamber. The dust just barely obscured his view of those little vines whipping about, eventually shrinking into a single point. He saw some dust swirling around it, displaced by rapid movement. It was coming towards him. He could make out a very diminutive shape emerging, still cloaked by dim light and soot. It wasn’t long before it vanished underground. He could see flecks of earth being flung up as its silhouette vanished.

He waited with the crucible in hand, poised to tear apart whatever pestilential beast that dared obstruct him with another distraction.

“Finally.”

He looked back and wasn’t sure if he was seeing it correctly. A little face peering up at him, beady little eyes burning into his. A little flowering plant, staring into him with such curiosity and enthusiasm. The sight was bizarre, but in retrospect, it wasn’t much stranger than anything else he had seen in the past two days. Only morbid curiosity bid him listen.

“Those idiots can’t bother us now. I’ve been wanting to meet you. See you up close. I watched you fight those demons back there. Saw you carve them up with that sword, blow them away with your shotgun… The sword was my favorite.”

That little voice of his made the Scourge cringe. It was so nasally and grating, and the innocence in his tone sounded so blatantly superficial. It made him clench his fists, grit his teeth. The enthusiasm in it was real but almost everything else about it disgusted him. There was a chip on this thing’s shoulder.

“I… I know what your sword can do.”

There it was.

Run.

“Hey!! Wait!”

Just run. The Iron stench of blood is near. The gates are within reach. He is waiting for you.

The little Flower’s voice suddenly took on new, demonic tones. “GIVE IT TO ME!”

He felt a tendril wrapping around his arm.

“GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NOW OR I’LL-!”

The Crimson blade was unsheathed, and in a flash, that tendril was cut away. The little creature screamed and shrieked and tried to give chase. Now the Marine knew who it was.

Don’t think about it. Don’t think. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. You’re right there. It’s right there. Right in front of you. Just a little further. Another vine around you, torso this time.  Cut it off. He’s still screaming. No. Not “he.” It. It’s screaming. Still following you. Wrapping more vines around you. You’re strong enough. Just keep running. They’ll break if it tries to constrict you. Keep running. Keep moving. The gates are opening. This is it. It’s almost time. It’s got a good foothold on you. Ignore it. He’s clinging to you. Trying to pry the blade from your hand. He can’t He’s crying. Begging. Don’t listen to him…

The gates are opening…

The debris under Asgore’s feet nearly toppled out from under him before he could get solid enough of a footing to pull Toriel to the top of the rubble. “Okay here… climb up, _up_ … there.”

“Will everyone be able to make it up okay?”

“Yes, O Queen, we-“

VEGA’s interruption halted everyone in their tracks. “Receiving Probe footage now…. Oh no…”

“VEGA, what is it?”

“Your Highness… Probes have arrived…. Picking up DT signature in the open.”

 

In the lab, Alphys and Sans nearly fell out of their seats. Sans picked the comms up first.

“Shore party! **Come in, Shore Party!** ”

 

“Toriel, look…”

 

“Shore party, come in! Why won’t they ans- ** _ugh_** -Alphys! Switch to standard Visual!”

“Switching to defaults, focus on- **gasp**!”

 

There he was. Hanging off the Doom Slayer’s back. The Praetor’s pace had slowed considerably as the Flower wrapped more vines around him. A massive gate was spreading its blackened doors, and from beyond, they could see two red eyes peering out from the dark.

“GIVE IT! GIVE IT!”

Keep cutting the vines. Get him off of you.

He cried harder and harder as the crimson blade lopped vine after vine off him. “PLEASE!”

Ignore him…. Just ignore him.

“No!”

“Toriel, wait!”

Keep cutting. He’s got you turned around. The others are coming. No. Don’t let them catch up. Enough vines are cut. Just get him away…

“I DON’T WANNA STAY LIKE THIS!” the little flower cried out.  His voice had changed again. It was no longer that of a demon, but of a little boy. “I-I don’t wanna be like this! PLEASE!”

Just a couple more vines…

“PLEASE!”

Toriel and Asgore ran as fast as they could. They were still at least a hundred yards away. They could hear their son crying. Tears began to cloud their vision. They ran faster. Harder. Almost more than their legs could carry them.

There’s the taproot. Cut it.

 

“Shore party, Shore Party! We-“

“Wait, that’s them!”

 

The Hell Walker shimmied the blade under his own forearm and cut outward, severing Flowey’s last connection with him. The Flower screamed out in pain one more time before the Doom Slayer brought him up to his face, sheathing his blade. He looked him in the eyes, trying to tell him something with his sharp, rapid breathing and his wide, bloodshot eyes. He would not - could not help him.

VEGA and Gaster could barely keep up. So much distance to close.

“P-please…”

He shut his eyes and threw him, not taking much notice of exactly where he aimed. Those two or three seconds in the air were the most dreadfully silent moments in Flowey’s memory. He smacked against the outer face of one of the Obsidian Doors before falling limply to the ground.

The King and Queen froze, horrified. The little flower did not make another sound for a few more seconds, while the Doom Slayer paused to regain his breath before slowly stepping forward, towards the open gate. Towards the red eyes staring blankly at him. He picked shredded vines out of the nooks and crannies of his armor, lazily letting the slip from his fingers and onto the ground.

As he stepped past the gate, the Flower began to cry again, and he stopped, taking a brief look at him. The flower just kept crying. His sobbing and sniffling was the only sound in the torrid air. Not even the wind could be heard. Not even a whistle.

“Asriel!!”

“Asgore, wait!”

The red eyes beyond the gate opened wide. A grisly howl shook the ground, and with it, a foul chorus of demoniac yells and screeching and bellowing. Toriel nearly fell face first on the ground before her husband caught her in his arms.

The Scourge of Hell narrowed his eyes as the courtyard before him came alight with the fires of Hell. Demons perched on the many parapets and clambered down the walls, all slowly at first. They all knew the stakes, and fear of ultimate disgrace horrified them more than death or dismemberment at the Doom Slayer’s hand.

With the Crucible and Siphon in hand, the Unchained Predator let forth from the empty hilt and skull-strewn buckler those familiar constructs of bright red. Hellspawn recoiled, and Baphomet snarled as their vermillion light soaked the blackened gate. His left foot came down before him, lining his body parallel to the walls. Holding the Siphon out with palm facing the ground, he brought the tip of the crucible’s blade to the green gem at the shield’s center.

Tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, Toriel whimpered. “Doctor, what’s happening? What’s he doing”

Gaster’s eyes were dead. He couldn’t find the right words to respond.

That infernal, growling voice gave its last ruinous dispatch

**“DO NOT LET HIM PROCEED.”**

Every demon charged towards the gate at once.

The Praetorian immediately swung the sword round about him. A trail of bright red light flowed therefrom, floating in the air, following the blade’s path and running as far as its length

**“STOP HIM!”**

He locked the hilt into the top of the Buckler, the jaws on the ends interlocking. The tip of the blade now faced downward.

**“KILL HIM!”**

The demons were mere yards away

He plunged the blade into the ground.


	25. The East Wind

The Circle of light around him shot outwards, vaporizing all hellspawn in its path. It cut through the stone. It shot through the rest of the shore party, through a shield, crossed arms, and a trident, yet left them unharmed. On and on it went before reaching a certain threshold. The light then blossomed into a great sphere that encompassed all of the courtyard and most of the pathway. The scarlet had given way to white, and as the sphere was completed, the light shone to near blinding. It shone through clasped fingers, blinded optics and flooded the Slayer’s helmet. All was blank for a little while. No one could see shape, nor color, nor form.

 

The probe footage had gone completely dark.

“W-what just happened?! Sans, can you get the-“

“All the controls are unresponsive! I can’t do anything!”

“Demon activity in New Home seems to have ceased. They look like they’re all just standing still…”

Undyne ran back up to the Tether Module. “Alphys what did he do?!”

Everyone’s eyes shot to the escalator as they heard Frisk’s little footsteps pattering down. “Guys, what is it?! I heard everyone yelling and-!”

Sans let his head rest in his hands. “I think I know what Doomguy’s doing…”

The little girl ran to see the monitors. Nothing but static.

“Asriel…”

 

Then, as the light faded, color came back. Not in hues of blood red or deathly grey. But in auroras of breathtaking iridescence, accompanied by innumerable little streams, some In grey and some in color, coursing through the air. Everyone expected the stone and bone to come back into view, but it didn’t. There was nothing but this endless wave of light around them all as they floated in the air. At first, the shore party felt outright fear, but the light and the echoes of calm voices put their frayed nerves to rest.

They looked and saw the Doom Slayer before them. Indeed, the Flower and the Icon were there too, but faded.

They could see other personages, more solid in form, floating along with them. Their faces were obscured by clouds of white light.

No one knew how, but as the hell Walker held up the Crucible, he touched down on solid, unseen ground. He walked towards the demonic entity and the personage within it. Each step felt like it would sap all strength from his body. Everything in him felt weak and frail. His stomach churned. His head was lighter than ever, almost to the point of rendering him unconscious. It was so odd. He always imagined this moment to feel so triumphant. He thought victory would bring him joy, but he felt no such thing now. Still, almost as if under another’s control, he trudged forward.

**“Stop”**

His heart nearly halted with his feet. He hadn’t heard that voice in so long.

**“Father…”**

The veil was lifted from his face for all to see. None but the Doom Slayer knew it, but that one word elucidated all to what was happening.

 

“Frisk!” Undyne turned the now weeping little girl to face her. “Frisk, what is he-“

“I’ll never see him again…”

“Doomguy just-wait… Frisk, what did you say?!”

“Alphys… he broke the barrier.”

“What?!”

Every eye in the room now faced the child. Mettaton finally abandoned his station, getting close to the huddle. “Frisk, are you saying that-“

“You all remember ‘that flower’ before everything went white, we all woke up, and the barrier was gone? That was him. All those souls must have given him power to bring his own back… he woke up and broke it with all the souls’ power.”

 

The young man floated down and stepped towards his father. He was adorned in imposing white armor, its breastplate emblazoned with the Symbol of Argent. His head and face were bare, the latter clean shaven, and his dark brown hair reached down just a little past his neck. He had his father’s blue eyes and stern face.

 

“It was him… it was all him… he’s the one that set us free, not me.”

 

The young man approached the Doom Slayer. **“You know what the right thing to do is.”**

His finger raised to the Praetor’s left, pointing a little behind him.

In the flower’s midst, he saw a little boy, his face still shrouded by a blank veil.

Toriel could hardly believe her eyes, much less trust her mouth to convey what she was feeling “A-Asgore… is that-“

“Tori… Look…”

Some of the streams were drawing closer to the shore party, though amid the otherworldly spectacle, they were hard to notice until they had closed considerable distance. Six of them in total. One Blue, one green, one violet, one yellow, one teal, and one Orange. They all drew closer and closer to the Dreemurrs

 

“Frisk, are you serious?!”

“I talked to him, Alphys. He was himself for a while after using all the souls to break the barrier. Without them, he was gonna turn back into a flower.”

Undyne turned away covering her mouth. “Oh no…”

Everything began to come together in Sans’ mind. “’All the souls in the underground…’ He returned it rather than keep it. Doomguy…. The Crucible’s got that power too!”

“And he won’t use it on Asriel…”

 

Step by step, side by side, father walked alongside son.  **“You know what you must do.”**

Every step tore the Praetor apart. All he ever wanted was to hear that voice again; to hear it again and hear it for the rest of his life. He realized in all dread that these few remaining seconds would truly be the last he would ever hear it. The last time he would ever look on his son’s face. Every second felt like little pebbles of sand falling between his fingers in slow motion. He could not bring himself to let them go, and yet they still fell. Step by step, they fell.

The streams now came to a standstill in front of Asgore. Upon realizing what and who they were, he nearly burst into tears. He couldn’t bring himself to face them. It tore him apart to think of what kind of grudge they would all hold.

Each one of them began to reveal its visage. Everything was so painfully familiar. One with glasses, another with a bandana, and yet another wearing a ballerina’s dress. A little girl with her notepad. A little boy with boxing gloves, and another dressed as a cowboy. Each of them as unspoiled as the day he met them. Bright, flush, almost alive. Asgore wanted to turn away and hide his face in shame. Memories of seeing those faces, bloodied and broken in the necropolis filled his soul with unnamed horror. Years of unrequited guilt tore the old man’s heart asunder.

It just had to happen that every human who fell would be a child. Taking the life of another man or woman would have been bad enough, but they all had to be children. Who knew how many others he had made to suffer as he did? How many other parents had been consigned to mourn for their own Asriel? Their own Chara?

There was no way they could be here for anything but vindication.

But as each stream began to reveal its face, he saw that none of them were angry.

They were smiling.

Asgore could contain his tears no longer.

 

Step by step, the end drew near.

The little boy’s personage drew closer and closer.

 

“Frisk... Frisk, it’s okay.”

“Alphys I just wanted to see him again.”

Undyne knelt next to her again, embracing her and trying to ease her tears. “Hey now, it’s okay. He deserves to see his son too.”

A little rationale went a long way. Just not enough to completely do away with Frisk’s tears. “I know… I know he does… and I can’t blame him for-”

Mettaton heard the static intensify and turned to the screens. “Wait, something’s up.”

 

The Crucible was raised up once more. It shone with bright, blinding light that seemed to reach up into the sky forever. The Father’s arm was stiff. He knew what to do next, but he didn’t want to, yet all his guilt, all his endless shame, all the memories of Argent’s fate, thoughts of Asriel’s heavy sobbing, and now, his son’s firm, but calm voice, implored him to the contrary. His principles, his conscience, all that invoked such rage at his commander’s murderous orders, at Hayden’s callous waste of life, told him to bring his arm down.

The faces faded, and the streams began to float away.

“Toriel… th-that was-“

The queen struggled to curtail her emotion as well. “I Know…. I remember them too…”

The veil began to lift from the boy’s face. The flower’s visage mirrored his. Eyes half-closed Peaceful and serene. Waking from deep sleep.

**“Now.”**

He couldn’t

**“Father, do it now.”**

All those years. All that anger. All that hope that it would be vindicated.

**“Father, I have watched you. Seen you through Baphomet’s eyes as he commanded his legions. I have seen how long you have fought for me. How hard you have fought to undo the past. To regain Argent D’Nur’s honor.”**

His hand shook. His eye quivered. His heart was jumping out of his chest.

**“And I’m proud of you.”**

No turning back now.

**“I will always be proud of you.”**

He put both hands on the hilt as he prepared to swing.

**“Now do this. For me.”**

He swung down.

The tip of the blade just barely made contact with the flower’s silhouette. Though the boy was still, the flower’s face exploded in blinding luminescence to rival the Crucible’s. The world around them seemed to be siphoning into the blade, and once more, all sight was washing away into a blank nothingness.

It was only a matter of seconds now. The Doom Slayer felt his son’s hand on his shoulder.

**“Father… you’ve done the right thing.”**

Then, all became nothing. Endless, bright, white, nothing that eventually faded into blackness. The Doom Slayer could see his hands clearly as if Hell’s amber sun were shining on him, yet an abyss surrounded both him and the shore party. He looked to his left. The rest of the shore party was there, but they were too far off for him to see their faces clearly. He looked to his right. Would his son be there, still standing by him? Still with a hand on his shoulder?

No. No of course not.

But then he looked down. There was that little boy. What did Gaster say his name was again? Asriel? He wasn’t too dissimilar to his parents. White fur, and large, soft ears that nearly touched his shoulders. No horns, but a little tuft of hair on top of his little head. No hooves, but dog-like paws for hands and feet, again like his parents. No royal robe with that Delta Rune on it. Just a tidy green and yellow striped sweatshirt, and neat, black pants and no shoes.

The blackness began to give way to color and light. The familiar stone and gravel appeared slowly beneath them, only now the light shining on them no longer glowed crimson. It was a light, faded yellow. He looked skyward and saw it reflected what he saw in the rock. 

A little yawning brought his eyes back to the ground. Asriel was waking, stretching a bit. He could hear a little of his voice as he yawned – that same voice that pleaded for his aid only a few minutes before.

The Hell Walker knelt down to see him. The one grand fruit of all his labor. All the fighting. All the blood he had waded through. All the toil of the ages had led him to this. For some reason, his grief was buried by something. An odd sense of peace, of feeling he had done right. It would come back eventually, but as he saw this little boy sit up and look at him, he felt that grief being suppressed. He took off his helmet, so the boy could see him clearer.

It took a while for him to find the strength to sit up ,and even longer to find his words. “You’re… you’re him, aren’t you? You’re the guy who…”

The Doom Slayer could not bring himself to smile. He could find some temporary peace in that moment, but he could not smile. Nevertheless, he reached down, putting his hand behind the child’s head, rubbing with his thunb.

“You actually did it… I didn’t think you were gonna do it! I.. .I-I..”

“Asriel…”

He knew both of those voices.

“Mom? Dad?”

 

Alphys’ and Sans’ hands scurried with the controls as clear imaged began to stutter themselves back on the screens

“Sans, any luck on your end?”

“There’s not much more we can do except just wait for them to sort themselves out. It’s just another game of hurry up and wai-…”

“Sans, what is it?”

“Probe 3 is back online. Look! Everyone look!!”

Eyes that had shifted to the ground now shot back up to the screen. None could peel themselves from what they were seeing.

 

Asriel couldn’t believe his eyes. There, in the midst of all this unforgiving stone, hot, dusty wind, and blazing heat, he saw what must have been the wonderful sight his eyes had seen in all the years since that fateful day on the surface.

His parents.

He stood up and ran to them. “MOM! DAD!”

They all ran to each other, son to loving parents, father and mother to beloved child. Somehow, in such a cruel and foul place, sublime, familial love radiated upon the sun blasted rock. The child jumped into his parents’ arms as they knelt down, and for at least a few minutes, they embraced. They embraced, cried, tried through muddled sobbing and joyous laughter to express their feelings one for another. The old Doctor could barely believe what he was seeing. All the grief he had shared with the Dreemurrs on that fateful day, washed away in an instant. Never would he have dreamed of seeing it, and now, here it was, right in front of him, love, forgiveness, and reunion, in the middle of a land scorched by hate, begrudging, and isolation.

VEGA felt so out of place. Not only because he was the only one not intimate to the situation, but because there were things going on here that he felt was completely out of his reach. Still, even if for just a few moments, it felt good to see a change of scenery. Since his inception, he was exposed ad nauseam to that which was foul and rancorous. It brought such peace to his troubled soul, seeing that that wasn’t how thing always ought to be.

“I-I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay, my son.”

“Dad, I-“

“That wasn’t you.”

“I almost k-kil-“

“Shh, shh, we’ve got you, it’s okay…. I’m here my child.”

“Mom…”

“It’s okay.”

“I could have hu-hurt both of you…”

“Shhhhh, it’s alright.”

The King and Queen took just a second to exchange looks. Both were soaked in tears and smiling. They couldn’t really find any words to express themselves. So much had happened just now. So many years of misery undone, and all of it thanks to a man they had only really known for two days. They looked his way, hoping to thank him.

He was no longer there. Only his empty helmet stood sentry by the gates.

Asriel noticed his Mother and Father had their heads up and were silent. “Mom, dad, is everything okay?”

The space around them had gone from warm to cold in an instant. The wind began to howl

“Is something wrong?” It was then that the child looked up and saw where they were staring. He released his embrace, as they did theirs, and looked behind him to see that the gate and the courtyard had been almost entirely demolished from about two or three stories up. One of the blackened doors had toppled, while the other sat askew on its ruined hinges. They all stood up, and Asgore waved the other two over, bidding them follow. Both complied.

As they came to the entrance, Asriel picked up the Praetor’s helmet, dusting off the visor.

“He… where’d he go?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart… VEGA, do you have any readings?”

“Probes are still calibrating systems, Queen Toriel. I cannot get many reliable images at the moment, nor can I assume control of the probes. Probe three seems to be in good working order, however. I’ll send a message out to-“

“Wait.” Asriel took a few steps towards the gate so he could see inside the courtyard, the Praetor’s helmet still nestled in his arms.

Asgore rushed forth to hold his son back. Neither he or Toriel were going to lose their son again.

Then, as the others followed, everyone’s eyes fell upon the Doom Slayer.

He was looking up at the empty husk that was once the Icon of sin. Its red eyes were now dull gray, and the burning rune in its forehead had faded into nothing. Its jaw hung wide agape, partially unhinged on its left side. Some sort of rancid, black sludge poured from its open maw. The Praetorian was not moving. He just stood and stared at the dead abomination for what felt like ages until at last, the monstrosity crumbled to dust. Its horns toppled to the ground, shattering like glass, while the rest of its skull crumbled away under its own weight. The gateway around it also crumbled, as did a sizeable portion of the dual temples on either side of the courtyard. Now the Central Tower could be seen in full. From the dust and ruined bone, some sort of reddish essence appeared to be rising, like steam out of a hot spring. Slowly, in ephemeral wisps, it ascended until it all coalesced into a large, singular mass, floating upward and outward to the top of the tower. The Doom Slayer’s eyes followed it until it vanished into the Citadel keep.

He kept looking skyward for a few moments. Then, his gaze lowered. He just stood there. Undisturbed by stray demon or inquiring friend. No one but the old Doctor knew what had just happened, but the same sense of eerie dread washed over everyone who saw.

He unlatched the Crucible and Siphon from his belt and brought them up to his face, examining them like newfound baubles. His face was completely blank. His did not blink as he limply dropped his weapons to the ground and kept on walking.

Everyone stay still, save for Gaster, who slowly advanced towards his old partner. Cautious, unnerve red, and uncertain.

“Old friend? Are you well?

Asriel tried to follow, but his mother’s hand restrained him. “Mom, we have to help him! He’s-“

“Stay back, child…”

“But Doctor Gaster-“

“Doctor Gaster already knows him, Son.”

“but dad, I-“

“Shh, stay here…”

 

Mettaton had somewhat of a skip in his step as he got back to his surveillance. “Alright, you keep working on those monitors then, Sans. I’ll head back to my station.”

“It’s taking way too long for the images to get clear… even probe three is going wonky now…”

“Well, that’s just fine… I think we’ve seen what we need to see. Vega will show us how to fix it.” Alphys wore a glad smile as she leaned back in her chair. “ **Sigh** … man, he really did it… I bet that really took some guts.”

Frisk’s sobbing had entirely faded away. She was elated to see Asriel back, but still, thoughts on just how much Doomguy had just sacrificed haunted her just a bit. “I can’t believe he did it… after all this time, he’d let someone else have a chance…”

“He’s a good man, Frisk.” Undyne was feeling similar things, and although she wore a smile, it too was weighed down just a bit. “Part of me was thinking that’s what he would have always done.”

“Do you think he’s gonna be okay?”

“I dunno. We still can’t see him

 

Seeing the Crucible and Siphon on the ground halted Gaster in his tracks. He picked them up, looking upon them like some sort of shattered heirloom. Their disposal was no light gesture. As he saw the Doom Slayer walking further and further away into the distance, he could only imagine what kind of madness or grief or ghastly combination of both could make him do this.

Finally, he stopped and fell to his knees, bringing his eyes back to the top of the Citadel Tower. He brought both hands to either side of his face, deeply, loudly breathing in and out. Faster and faster, pausing every now and then to swallow his spit. His fingers began to curl. His head began to droop, and that steady breathing of his became faster and more erratic every second. It hissed first through his nose, then through gritting teeth. His eyes were wide open, and his pupils were pinheads. His whole frame began to shake, at first subtly, then violently as his breath began to waver.

It’s done. It’s over. No going back. They’ve taken him from me. He’s back with Baphomet. Back with the Icon of Sin. The Crucible is spent. The Siphon is spent. Everything I’ve done. All those people. Gone for nothing. All that fighting. All for nothing. Sweating. Fingers curling in too hard. Bleeding. Can’t go any further.

He took one last, deep breath. He shot his head upwards.

And he screamed.

He screamed, and all of hell heard it. It loosed the rocks and brickwork in that remained of the twin temples and brought them down to the sandy earth. It reverberated throughout the citadel, and awoke whatever slumbered in its parapets and balconies. The arcs of hell energy flowing between the floating sigil stones went dim, and the obelisks fell into the scorched walls and magma pools. Imps and Hell Knights rose up towards the noise. Barons looked towards the conduit, eyes wide in dread. Every hellish pawn that drew breath that day tapped into the great collective memory of their hive mind to the last time that scream was heard. The voice of anguished vengeance, of ungodly wrath and unstoppable ferocity and indignation, had sounded in their ears before, in the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened.

And now, he had come again, to let the armies of doom reap the whirlwind they had sown.

“VEGA, I think we may need to send Toriel and Asriel home.”

“Gorey-“

“Me and Gaster will handle this… VEGA, my wife has her bracer, but do you have any way to get my son home?”

“I have spare nodes in my chassis. Uploading firmware now.”

Toriel looked skyward, but did not see the Probes. “VEGA… did you ever establish contact with the rest of the probes?”

“No… re-establishing connection…. Connection locked out.”

“Locked out?”

“Yes. It-…. Oh no.”

 

“Man, Sans, that thing sure is giving you trouble.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me, _captain_ ….” Sans’ frustration with the probe interface wore down any patience he had for Undyne’s wryness.

“Hey, calm down, bud! What’s gone wrong with it now?”

“It won’t let me access the footage… I’m…. **ugh** , dammit!”

Alphys was taken aback by Sans’ aggravated vulgarity. “Easy there, bud!, You need my help?”

“No, I’ve been locked out for some reason, can you call VEGA? He better not have pulled this on me-“

“Wait, locked out?”

“Yeah… wait, what’s with the face?”

 

“Attempting to override lock…”

“Mister, is everything okay?” The AI looked down to see Asriel’s eyes pleading an answer.

“No… not really… attempt 428 failed. Accessing spare nodes…”

They could hear Gaster trying to talk to the Doom Slayer from the other side of the courtyard. His voice was muffled by distance, but regardless of what he was or wasn’t saying, Asgore felt strain building on his nerves. “VEGA, you might want to hurry it up…”

“Gorey, what about Gaster?”

“I’ll stay here and see how we can bring him along when it’s time to tether out.”

“Firmware installation complete. Asriel, give me your arm…”

The bracer was enough to cover Asriel’s entire forearm and then some. The strap automatically adjusted to him, and he wrung it just a little as VEGA instructed him

“Now, that bracer is connected to nodes in my chassis. That's what will tether us both out, so stay close. Initiating tether sequence on serial numbers 3487QM2 and 2019XT4… failed…. Lock still in place…. This isn’t good….”

Asriel clung to his mother as his Father began to scour the remains of the temples with his eyes. “Doctor! Doctor get back!”

“Mom, what’s happening?!”

Toriel was unable to conceal her fear, hard as she tried. “It’s okay, we’ll be home in a minute, dear…”

“Bypass attempt #932: failed….”

 

“Can you tether them back here?”

“I’m locked out… Did VEGA do this?!”

“No, Sans. He wouldn’t do that.”

“Then who-?!”

“Who do you think, Sans?!”

“Son of a-“

Every screen suddenly went black. The UAC logo popped up in white with a blood red backdrop.

 

Gaster still tried calling out to the Marine, who still knelt upon the ground. ‘Old friend! We cannot tarry! Do you hear me?”

No movement.

“We must go! The Royal family must return! You cannot leave this unfinished! We must move on!”

He couldn’t even see him breath. The Slayer moved not a muscle

“We cannot tarry! We must stop the-“

A single, ear-splitting gunshot rang out through the courtyard.

The Hell Walker turned back to the source of the noise.

He saw Gaster keeled over, his eyes still on him. He held onto his stomach, small streams of dust riding a small breeze eastward from betwixt his clasping fingers. His face read crippling pain and shock. And as he descended, crumbling into gray dust, one last word escaped his rasping throat.

“Go…”

And he was gone.

Rising from his falling dust, the Crucible and Siphon were lifted skyward towards one of the higher Parapets to what was the doctor's left.

A magnetic hand caught each of them. 

"Why, thank you, Doctor Gaster."


	26. The Serpent

An oscilloscope graphic came up from under the UAC logos at the monitoring station

“All this time, and none of you remembered I had access to the system. I almost feel insulted that you all could have forgotten me so soon.”

“SANS, KEEP WORKING ON THE LOCK!”

“I’M TRYING! SEE IF YOU CAN GET IT FROM YOUR END”

 

Series of fireballs from the King and queen, coupled with laser fire from VEGA, crashed against Hayden’s shields to no apparent effect. Not even a flinch from the Cyborg, who stood on the highest remaining parapet abreast the ruined east temple. So much demeaning candor hid from behind his steel mask of a face. It oozed in his voice and flowed through his proud posture. Chin high, shoulders back, a single blue optic looking down condescendingly at the little group below him. New parts had replaced what had been lost in Olivia’s office. New arms, a new chassis, unpainted, and reflecting a glint of the amber sunset.

“Don’t waste my time.” He latched both crucible and Siphon to points on his chassis before picking his rifle back up. “You know, I would have been worried had it not been for this Gaster’s findings. The Doom Slayer would have used the last source of Argent Energy in existence, and I wouldn’t have known there was another way. I really ought to thank you all for doing the heavy lifting.”

 

Undyne’s fear mingled with her rage as she heard Hayden’s low, condescending tone. “Al, how are we doing…”

“I can’t bust it! Neither of us can!”

The Captain drew close and hunched over the station. “What about VEGA? Is he working on it from his end?”

Sans’ frantic hands scurried about the module’s various interfaces, trying fruitlessly to break the encrypted lock. “There’s no way to know! Hayden’s blocked our communications! He’s blocked **everything!** ”

 

Several notifications popped up in the corner of his periphery, informing him of VEGA and the monsters’ attempts at bypassing his lockout. The supercomputer that made up most of his brain was busy keeping their meddling at bay. “Ah VEGA… I made you to be powerful, but I did not make you to supersede me. You won’t be able to break the lock, neither will anyone in the lab compound.”

“Your ego amazes me, Doctor….” Cold rage permeated every syllable that came out of VEGA’s mouth, his cannon still trained on his old master’s head. “I wish I could understand what _makes_ men like you…”

“Maybe that’s why you’re not up here with me.”

“HE’S NOT UP THERE BECAUSE HE’S NOT THE FOUL, VILE, SELF OBSESSED EXCUSE OF A MAN YOU ARE, SAMUEL!” The Queen’s voice rasped out in indignant fury.

“Testy today, aren’t we…” The Cyborg laughed. “Give up. Give up like your champion has. He didn’t claim what was his, and you see where it’s gotten him. As for me, I will claim what is mine. Neither him, nor any of you will deny me of what’s in my reach. Olivia made the mistake of letting the Imperatrix set the terms when she opted for godhood, but the tables will be turned when I meet with the Icon of Sin. It will be he who begs my conditions and abides by my terms. It will be I who rules over the power of the Crux…”

In an instant, Hayden trained the reticle of his rifle on Toriel’s head.

“… and you will be left here to rot.”

But before he could pull the trigger, he heard something from behind and below him. It sounded almost like galloping, a beast’s paw tearing the ground apart in fervent, steady cadence. It grew closer and louder by the second, and it alone swung Hayden’s attention from his mark to his flank.

He looked down, and saw the Doom Slayer.

The whites of his eyes were set ablaze, and they overpowered the orange light of the fading sky, which covered his back and cast a deep shadow under him. Those eyes were fixed on him, and the irises seemed stained black as pitch. He was climbing the face of the temple, bounding vertically from balcony to balcony, his arms and legs pumping back and forth, seeming almost like a wild cat sprinting as his hands clawed at the stone, and his feet kicked upon the ledges, sending chips of rock flying behind him. His mouth was agape, heaving in and out as his breath fueled his ascent. His teeth glistened like his eyes against the amber light, bared like terrible, feral fangs. It was not a man anymore, but a beast, a wild animal, coming for him.

Hayden swung his rifle to meet the Domo Slayer’s head, but he was already upon him, and the barrel was crushed betwixt the Praetor’s fingers as he grabbed it and pulled himself up by its ruined muzzle, taking Hayden face down into the edge of the balcony. The impact was enough to break the rock into pieces, and to disrupt Samuel’s link with the Tether Modules.

VEGA Immediately saw his window of opportunity. “LOCK BYPASSED. Everyone hold on!”

 

The UAC logos disappeared from the screen. All probe footage resumed as normal. Comms were open again. It took a second to register to both Sans and Alphys before they jumped to the controls, only to find they had no access to them. Something was already starting the tethering sequence. Comms however were still open, and ready to relay traffic. Alphys jumped at the opportunity.

“Base to shore party, base to shore party! Come in!”

“Base, this is VEGA. Tethering sequence underway. Prepare to receive visitors.”

“How did you-?!”

“It’s UAC property. I have full rights to it as long as I’m not locked out, and Hayden’s too busy to keep me from picking it.”

“What do you mean?”

Frisk pointed to one of the monitors, standing on her toes. “Look!”

Sure enough, the grainy footage allowed them a distant view of the Praetor unleashing his fury upon the Cyborg, up in the higher parapets of the ruined temple.

 

Grab him

Hit him

Kill him

Unholy anger soared through the air in the Doom Slayer’s fists as they swung and battered the Cyborg, some hitting his torso, others blocked by his wrists and palms. Faking a punch, he shot an open hand at Hayden, who reached out to block, only to feel his opponent’s hand grab him and wrestle him to the floor. The Hell Walker pounced on him, wasting no time to end the miserable Doctor’s life.

You’re on top of him. Pin him down. Swing. Hit. Swing again. Keep hitting. Hit until his shields break. Hit until his head bursts open. He’s struggling. Trying to kick you off. Get a knee under his left leg. Keep his hand down. Other one’s reaching for you. Swat it away. Keep hitting. Shields almost down. Hand is there again, trying to gouge your eye. Grab it. Hold it down. Headbutt him. Hurts. Keep going. Don’t stop until he’s dead. Ears ringing. Head feels like its cracking apart. His is. Top of his optic is chipped. Kill him. Crush him.

_WHAM_

He’s kicked you off. Stomach churning, aching. World spinning around you again. Falling. Claw at the near wall. Run up. Grab the ledge. Climb it. Jump to the next. Hayden’s getting up, running away. Blue light behind you….

The light encircled the Queen, the Prince, and the AI, arcing around them in small thunderclaps and raising them into the air.

Asgore took a look toward the fleeing combatants before parting with his family. “Asriel, remember to do what your mother instructs, do you understand?”

The little boy clutched the Praetor’s empty helmet. “O-Okay.”

“Toriel, you keep him safe until I get back. Both of you stay safe.”

“We will.”

“I love you.”

“I-“

Toriel’s words were cut off by the tether. The light came to its crescendo, and in a flash and sound of thunder, his family and the AI that accompanied them vanished before his eyes.

 

To all in the lab, the sound of the tether module at work was familiar. It had become almost routine at this point, but everyone was still on the edge of their seat, waiting for its passengers to come through the divide.

The noise subsided, the flashing light vanished, and three figures came toppling to the floor. VEGA did not have the biological processes that would render him ill, but the tether had enough of an effect on his optics to warrant system diagnostics and a few seconds of optical and audio function recovery. Toriel was sick to her stomach, and could barely stand. Asriel had the worst of it given his size, and he could scarcely move from his prone position on the floor. His head throbbed, and his stomach burned. He couldn’t make out the shape of his hand in front of his face. No sound registered as anything but muffled mush to his ears.

But then he heard Frisk’s voice

“Asriel?”

His own voice was hard to find. “F-Frisk-?”

He heard pattering feet running toward him. Then, a small hand taking hold of his. Strength and speech weren’t as hard to find anymore. It pulled him up, and his feet managed to prop him up long enough for Frisk to embrace him and make up for what strength he lacked.

“I never thought I’d see you again…”

“Frisk, I-I…” Asriel could barely hold back tears. He tried laughing them away. “I’m sorry I’m – I-I always do this, I-“

“Hey, it’s okay…”

“I-I’m such a crybaby.”

“I’m okay with crybabies.”

The Prince managed to clear his eyes well enough that he could see the room around him. All eyes were on him and Frisk, all speechless and astonished. Sans, Alphys, Mettaton, Undyne, VEGA.

And of course, his mother.

“You… you know each other?!”

Asriel let out a breath that came up somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “It’s a long story, mom.”

A sense of urgency bid VEGA to return, as much as he wanted to hear the story. It pained him to stay so distant, but Asgore’s life could be on the line, and every second counted. “I ought to tether back. King Asgore and the Doom Marine will need help if Hayden really is doing what he says he will.”

Undyne looked quizzical. The thought of either the mighty King of the Underground or the Scourge of Hell needing much help to take down one man seemed outlandish. “Why? What’s Hayden up to? What do you mean, they'll need he-“

The Praetor’s helmet caught her eye, just a few feet off to Asriel’s right. She ran up to it, picking it up and eyeing it over as if to search for any damages. Her eyes gravitated to the Argent Sigil on its forehead, painted in red, seemingly after the fact of his induction into the Night Sentinels. It felt so odd to hold it herself. It felt distressing. Uncomfortable. Worrying. It shouldn’t be in her hands. It shouldn’t be with her.

Toriel’s voice shook her from her disconcerted distraction. “He’s going to fuse souls with Baphomet.”

“What?!”

VEGA confirmed her words to any disbelieving ears. “He plans on merging power with the Icon of Sin and becoming a God. He also plans on brokering the deal and setting his own terms, and with the Crucible and Siphon, I can see him pulling it off.”

"He takes control of the Baphomet, he'll have control of the Crux..." Alphys added. "He'll be able to send the demons here in force. He'd control Hell itself-"

"Not if we get there first. We stop him, we reach the Time Crux we put a stop to the invasion, to resets, to _everything_." Sans surprised even himself with such initiative. “We’ve got to send more in there than just you and Asgore. That sounds way hairier than what three guys can handle.” 

“How much more are you thinking?” Mettaton drew eyes to the back of the room. “We need as many here as we can get if our guests in New Home get any antsier.”

Alphys feared another argumentative logjam. “Didn’t you say they were dormant?”

“Yes, but they’ve certainly woken up.” Hall eyes once again fixed to the security screens. Indeed, activity in New Home had resumed its usual clamor. Demons once more crawled along the walls, now painted in hellish sigils and partially crumbled by their innate violence.

VEGA’s ruminations led him to similar concerns. “He’s right. And if Hayden manages to reach the Icon first, he will certainly send more our way.”

“Let me call Papyrus.” Undyne was again fixated on the helmet. “Doomguy's portals should still be open.I’m going in. Papyrus will take charge of the Guard underground while No 1 and No 2 keep things under wraps up top.”

“Undyne, are you sure?” Alphys asked. “Are you sure you want to go to the Time Crux?”

“I'm not going there.”

“What?”

Her eyes once again fixed themselves upon the Sigil.

“I'm going to Argent.”

___________________ 

The Hell Walker’s gaze tore from side to side as he searched for his quarry. He could hear the cyborg running away, metal pads hitting sandstone. He had chased prey down before, but seldom had he felt such hatred for any single demon as he felt for this man. This man, who used him like a common tool, who had stolen what was rightfully his, who had formed the lives of innocent thousands to make his pedestal, and who now, after all that was done, all that was lost, after the ultimate test of his honor and integrity, came to insult him.

_He didn’t claim what was his, and you see where it’s gotten him._

He had spent countless ages working up to that moment. For so agonizingly long, he had awaited the day when he could undo the sting of his betrayal. Eons had been spent looking forward to the day when he would take back what Hell had stolen from him, when the fruits of their treachery would be ground into dust, and their vindication broken into pieces.

But fate had given him a test. Calling it a “hard decision” would be a vulgar understatement. It was the hardest, most soul-crushing choice he had ever made. Even now, the irreversible reality of the situation scorched his soul and renewed his grief.

Deep down inside however, he knew it was the right thing to do. He had passed the test. He had proven his honor.

And what did Samuel Hayden, callous waster of men’s lives, egotistical self-proclaimed hero. hopeful usurper of Hell and god thereof, have to say about it?

_You see where it’s gotten him._

The _nerve_ , the _gall,_ the unprecedented _arrogance_ and pompous _ego_ tha _t_ complete **_brat_** of a man had to spit on that sacrifice.

And it was so much more than just that insult. It was what fueled it. It did not matter how many suffered or died as long as it brought him glory. As long as it did not keep him from attaining his prize. Now that prize was in his reach, and there was no telling how many billions would pay with their lives to feed his self-proclaimed glory. He could sense it as he pursued him up the pathways that lead into the great tower. A fear that belied this man's pompous arrogance that brought urgency to his so-called "mission." To his so-called "aspirations." Imps and lesser hellspawn were either torn asunder by buckshot or ignored altogether. The Doom Slayer sought much more important quarry.

Indignation gave speed to his sprint. Righteous fury guided his aim and strengthened his arm. Raw determination lent fortitude to his mind.

Rip and Tear until it is done

And it shall be done

 _________________

The King’s breath pumped furiously, staving off the burning in his arms as he skewered and scorched knights and imps and Hell Razers, and giving his legs the strength to sally forth past their carcasses and up the sloped paths that lead to the Seat of Power.

Asgore knew he would not catch them in time to intercept the Cyborg. Him and the Doom Slayer had long gone past his reach for now, but he could not give up the chase. He would catch up to them sooner or later, and when he did, he needed to be ready to lend aid to the Praetorian. He had seen the strength of his sword arm and the lethality of his aim, but he knew Hayden’s as well, and whether the Praetor had the upper hand or was on the brink of defeat, he would need to step in. He could not afford to delay, nor waste too much of his strength. He knew that before the day was over, he would come to battle against the Cyborg.

He knew there was a chance that he would not make it out of this alive.

But that would not dissuade him. It could not. There was far too much to lose.

Family was on the line. His wife and son.

Toriel

Asriel

Frisk

Undyne

And so many others.

With hotly burning courage, he trudged on. Up the stairwells and through the rocky passageways that lead to the citadel center. On and on, cast under the shadow of the Great Tower. Therein lie the power to save or to destroy the people he loved. Therein lie the ultimate test of the strength of his heart. Therein lie the stage on which would be set the battle to decide the fate of billions.

He came upon a door, thrice his height and twice his width. The visages of lords from ages past were carved into its face. Their empty eyes bore down pitilessly upon the lone King before them. This was it. The entrance to the tower, the door to the Seat of Power, to the ancient well. The Time crux awaited him. It was set a ways from the tower proper, but even now, its horrible grandeur could not be ignored as it blackened all that lay around him in its shade.

The King pushed in a nearby switch: a skull placed in its own stone slot. The sound of grinding rock and clanking iron gears shook the earth beneath him as the great doorway opened.

“Don’t think you’re going in there by yourself.”

The King turned himself around to see VEGA standing stalwartly and ready to delve into the heart of Hell. “Ah. I hadn’t noticed you tethering in.”

“Only three minutes ago. I did not think this was something you could tackle on your own.”

“You’re probably right.”

Some unknown monstrosity bellowed in the distance. Its voice was sharp, loud, and high, and it shook the King and sent the AI’s precautionary systems into overdrive, even if only for a second. Both looked inside the door. It led into a hallway, empty save for some loose rubble, and the iron cages on either side, brimming the remains of the mortal dead. The longer they stared, the more the corridor seemed to stretch out in front of them, a primal darkness hailing them from within.

There wasn’t much more to say. “Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, your highness.”

“Right…. Let’s go.”

And they set forth into the Citadel.

_________________

Once more, the temples at Argent D’nur were silent. Once more, a semblance of peace could be felt, if one were to look and see the clouds fleeing from the sun and over the gold-washed mountains. Gone was the stain of crimson from the skies. Gone was the presence of demonkind as well. One could almost assume, had it not been for the Hell Sigil Stones flying around the shattered remains of argent, that it had been liberated from Hell’s ancient grasp.

Within the keep however, the scene was far more foreboding. What remained of the destroyed bodies of the horde had all but disappeared. A few trails of blood and small bits of gristle could be seen leading to the third temple’s chamber. From the maw of the skull gate enclosing the Imperatrix’s remains, smoke rose steadily into the sky, together with the smell of charred flesh, rendered fats, and the faint smell of iron liberated from blood.

Undyne looked on from the cavern entrance at the billowing smoke. Formidable a sight as it was, it brought her hope. Hope that perhaps this little stunt just might work. She looked down at her waist to the helmet clasped to her belt, then back to the Wraith’s altar. Many times had she reported directly to her King. She was a regular servant of royalty, yet she felt a reverent awe and fearful respect of what lay ahead the likes of which she had scarcely felt before. Her knighting was perhaps the only moment in her life that came close to filling her with this much apprehension and mixed fear and admiration for someone. The fear here was greater. Asgore was a kindly man who was like a father to her, but these? They didn’t know her, and presumably would not care for her intrusions. Maybe they would just ignore her. Maybe they would lop her head off if they saw their master’s headgear in her hand….

Undyne closed her eye, took in a deep breath, and dismissed her fears, no matter how likely or unlikely they were to play out as she imagined them.

“Here goes….”

She jumped down from the entrance and landed with a knee into the plaza. Without delay, she ran up the steps to the alter, unlatching the helmet from her belt. She found herself atop the temple, making eye contact with the wraith’s corpse. It lay there with open arms still, as if to greet her.

She paused, wondering what to say, wondering what to really do. There wasn’t a sign of them anywhere, save for what must have been their handiwork, fuming from the dead titan’s mouth. Last time she saw them, they simply showed up at once and out of nowhere, practically out of thin air. She remembered the green coloration of their spectral form, their bulky, imposing frames accentuated by thick and formidable white armor.

Then, she remembered their salute. Feet at attention, fist closed and brought to the heart.

She assumed the salute, and raised the Doom Slayer’s helmet in front of her.

Nothing happened.

She stood there for a minute or two more before raising it further over her head. She wanted to say something, to call or beckon out to them, to plead their aid and rally them, but she did not know what to say, if anything needed to be said at all. Above all else, she feared disrespect.

It seemed her current action was construed as disrespect anyway, for as soon as she raised the helmet higher into the air, they appeared. Not just the few she had seen before, but hundreds, if not thousands of them, standing along the walls and ledges, all pointing a sword or a spear or an arrow at Undyne’s head. The nearest had his blade mere inches away from her remaining eye. His faceless stare tore into her, as did the scores of other Night Sentinels who stood ready to strike the intruder down.

Undyne was paralyzed. One wrong move, and she would be cut to ribbons. She chose her words carefully, swallowing her terror with her spit, steeling herself to speak with dignity as becoming a warrior. Their very presence deserved – and demanded – no less.

“Your master needs you!”

Their arms were trained on her still.

“He calls for your aid! He goes to battle the Icon of Sin!”

Their weapons wavered as some exchanged looks, though most still kept their blades pointed at the strange girl pleading their help.

“My name is Undyne! I am a friend to him and I know him! I know what Baphomet really is. He had an opportunity to undo what had been done…. But he used it to bring that same chance to someone else. He has learned from his mistakes… “

The Sentinels began to disarm at once, either lowering or sheathing their weapons.

“Now he seeks to give him peace…. But someone threatens to merge souls with the icon. He threatens to swallow every world in his path and do to them what they have done to you!”

They all stood still. Unresponsive and silent.

That continual silence began to eat at Undyne’s patience. Anxiety began to take over. “Please! Please, you have to come with me! Lives are at stake! My home and my family are at stake! Your master’s life is at stake!”

The second in command, with sword still in hand approached her.

She was so eager to see a response. It was enough to calm her troubled heart, even if only for a moment. “Fight with me!” She held out the helmet with one hand and brought out her spear with the other, holding it aloft in the air. “It was said that you would follow the one bearing the Sigil… I bear it now… Fight with me!”

More of them slowly approached her. She could just barely make out eyes peeking out from their glowing visors. The second in command held her by the shoulder, and for that fraction of a second, she almost felt her heart burst from within her chest.

Then he took his sword, sheathed it, balled his hand into a fist, and beat it upon his bosom.

And all his men followed.

His voice reverberated through her very being and shook the air immediately around them

**"We will fight."**

Undyne saluted them back.

___________

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

_He’s coming for you, Samuel. You’ve set him off and he’s coming for you_

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

_That door is only going to last you another few seconds. Maybe a minute tops. You had better get this done fast. The Icon is just in the next room_

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

_The doors are open. There he is. His spectral form. Better close the second door. Stone and steel instead of wood. It’s going to take a lot more than what he’s got the break this one down._

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

**_SMASH_ **

_There that door goes…_

_Come on, wake up, wake up, open those eyes-_

**“WHO DARES TRESSPASS?! WHO COMES TO INTERRUPT THE SLUMMBER OF THE LORD OF THE FOURTH AGE?!”**

_All that light behind him. You can see it. You can see the Time Crux. Massive, leviathan tangle of steel and sinews encircling a pillar of red light. The whole place is awash with it. This whole chamber is massive. Has to be. Tower circumference Is at least 3km. Makes sense the room at the base would be-_

**WHAM**

**WHAM**

_There he is again. Better-_

**“WHO ART THOU?”**

For just a moment, Hayden almost felt genuine fear. The avatar of all human evils floated above him, and the slayer of millions, no, billions of demons was tearing at the door behind him.

But who were they? A crippled god with nowhere to hide and nowhere to run, and a fool who wouldn’t advance himself for the sake of other fools. Both were unworthy to stand in his way. Both would be crushed under his heel soon enough. Neither could stop him now

“I am Samuel Hayden. Perhaps your… associates have told you about me?”

**“ACCURSED FOOL! THINE ARROGANCE HATH UNLEASHED THE DOOM SLAYER’S WRATH ANEW UPON US! WHAT GALL HATH YE TO APPEAR BEFORE ME?!”**

“Why, I’d love to tell you. You see-“

The Icon roared and nearly shook the tower to the earth. Red flashes heralded the summoning of not dozens, not hundreds, but thousands of hellspawn all throughout the chamber. Their shrieking shook the stone anew, and some stray blocks from around the tower’s inner construction came tumbling down, crashing upon the black obsidian floor.

**“PLEAD BEFORE ME, THOU CUR. PLEAD AND BEG. CONJURE IN YOUR FRAIL MIND A REASON I SHOULD SPARE YOU. A REASON I SHOULD WITHHOLD THE HORDE FROM TEARING YOU APART.”**

“Oh I’ve got one that may convince you. Do you hear what’s behind me?”

The Icon gave no reply. Neither did the demons behind him, who now began to wax quiet as the constant battering grabbed their attention.

“Ahhh, so you _do_ know who it is! You know, there’s really nowhere left to go for you. Once he’s beaten down that door, I can assure you he’s going to kill you. He’s going to kill you and every single demon in this tower, and he’s going to destroy your precious Time Crux.”

The door began to crack apart, The iron within it began to whimper as the Doom Slayer’s fists bent them.

“Oh dear, he really is going at it, isn’t he? I personally thought that door would last a little longer.”

**“WHAT DOST THOU WANT?!”**

“I’m here to help you just a little. See, I can escape him. I already have once, and when he breaks through that door, I can escape him again. You cannot.”

**“SAVE ME YOUR PETTY RAMBLINGS.”**

Hayden pulled the Crucible and Siphon from his waist and brought the sword and shield to life. They now glowed bright white instead of red, the Argent energy depleted from them.

“No doubt you recall your dealings with my associate, Olivia Pierce, and her union with the Imperatrix…. I propose a similar union.”

**“THY MADNESS NIGH EXCEEDS THY HUBRIS, DELUDED MORTAL.”**

‘Call it whatever you want. It’s the only way you’re getting out of this alive.”

More of the stone door cracked apart. Pieces of it came down from between the iron framework. Hayden lowered the artifacts, and two propulsion modules popped up from the back of his chassis, their thrust vectors pointed down, and beginning to blow as they prepared for takeoff.

“You know, I can just fly right out of here. I can take on whatever you’ve got in the sky too. I promise you that.”

The Doom Slayer’s fist emerged from a hole in the stone. Grasping, clawing at it, looking for something to grab onto and pry apart.

“Do you really want to be the one? Do you really want to be the last Lord? The one who failed?”

The Praetor’s Plasma rifle poked its hefty muzzle out from the breach, immediately opening fire. Hayden raised his hand to block with the shield.

“This is it. Only a few more seconds and I'll have to leave. Either we unite, or you die. Here and now”

The Icon’s eyes went wide and white and every sound in the chamber, from the demons screaming, to the Scourge’s rifle firing, was muted. Runes engraved on the lower portions of the walls glowed white, then hollow black, pouring out great gouts of viscera onto the floor. It made no noise as it poured upon the floor. It washed around the feet of the demons, knocking some of the lesser ones down. So great was the flow that it had covered the floor in mere seconds, reaching up to the Cyborg’s ankles. A rune signifying the Herald of Great Ones past, illuminated itself onto the great pool of gore. The Icon’s eyes went black, and its murky silhouette sunk into the pool.

“There there…”

Hayden stepped forward to the center of the rune as some of the viscera began to drip upwards, trailing off in tendrils that came to surround him.

He began to sink into the pool. Each step taking him a little lower, as if descending a stairwell steeped in blood.

“Was that so hard?”

 


	27. Ye Shall Be Broken in Pieces

All throughout the passageways and dimly lit chambers emblazoned with Hell’s lexicon, one could scarcely tell that this was the way into the Seat of Power. One would think a legion of demons would stand in the way, guarding each passageway, standing sentinel in the assembly chambers leading to the Time Crux. This is where the Barons of Hell received their titles and were no more consigned to simply maul prey in a pit, but to form the very vanguard of Hell’s Army, the Royal Guard of the Lord of the Fourth Age. Asgore’s lungs labored to keep him bounding over their maimed, limp bodies, their horns torn off and meatily shoved through the roofs of their mouths.

Upon the floors of the Induction Chambers were many altars, surrounded with corpses of the unwilling who had heretofore been used to service the shrines, which now lay in pieces mingled with the gristle and shattered bone of their attendants. Spent brass casings could be seen sunken into the gory mire. VEGA’s eyes counted them all, noticing just how many had not been fully transformed by Lazarus waves, Parts of their old uniforms remained intact, hanging on in tatters over ruined flesh. A week ago, he had seen them unspoiled. Unharmed.

And it tore his soul apart.

Many more carcasses could be seen the further Asgore and VEGA went forth, their feet nimbly avoiding what remained of cacodemons, imps, razers, and summoners. Their blood painted the walls and flowed throughout the gutters, mingled with that of the dead whom they had ceaselessly tortured.

The sight was still nauseating to the Old King, but as steely and unmoving as the AI’s composure was, he could make out little hints that betrayed his distress. Every now and then his mouth would move, as if muttering something, and his eyes would seldom leave the corpses of the possessed, never the native demons or their crumpled remains.

“VEGA, I do not suppose I need to ask-“

“You don’t, and I would prefer if you didn’t.”

Asgore was not a zealous man regarding his title, but that tone of voice and neglect to address him as “King” or “Your Highness” warranted concern. “VEGA, I was only-“

“You were going to ask why I let them all die.” The actuators in his legs heightened their pace in an attempt to overtake the King.

“No, I wasn’t, but I can tell it’s eating at you.”

“Of course, it is.” His voice had lowered to near whispering. “Just let me focus.”

They could hear the sound of battle raging overhead. The King and the AI hastened their pace, hoping to lend aid. They knew the sound of his shotgun, the deafening report of his Gauss cannon, the roar of this chain gun.

And after seeing him break down in sorrow, they now knew the sound of his screams.

These were not of anguish or pain, however. They were of rage, of unfettered fury. They overpowered the demon’s screams with their acrimony, and they shook the very foundations of the citadel.

_____________

“POSITIONS, EVERYONE! PREPARE TO TAKE UP POSITIONS!”

“You know what you’re doing, Papyrus?”

“Yes Doggo, I know what I’m doing. Undyne gave me clear instructions.” He pointed to the Cavern walls surrounding Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland. “The Overlord System will take care of most of what comes out of the Core and New Home. What we need to do is keep mobile and lure them into the beams.”

“This sounds really risky.” Knight-knight wrung her hands around the hilt of her mace. Her eyes darted to and fro at the many open space that could easily become a shared grave. “Papyrus, are you sure about this?”

He wasn’t indignant as he was when he saw his friends huddled in defeat, nor was he as afraid or unsure as he had been on the surface. Confidence seemed to overpower and fear or self-doubt he had left, and that confidence turned his gaze to his new subordinates.

“There’s only half of us left, and-“

“Do you trust _her_ , Knight-Knight?”

"Who?"

“Don’t all of you trust Undyne? I do. I know you do too, right?”

No one knew exactly how to reply, save for Dogaressa. “Yeah… yeah we trust her. She’s led us all for years now.”

“Is she right everyone? You’re all confident in her command? In her leadership?”

The answer was unanimous to the affirmative.

“Then you can all trust me.” With squared Shoulders, he turned back to face the near empty chasm of the underground. “Okay, just to review. Knight-Knight, you and your team stay here with me. We’ll lure them into the open parts of Snowdin. Toriel burnt a lot of this place to a crisp earlier, so we have a lot to work with here. Lesser Dog, greater Dog, I need you and your group at Waterfall. There’s a lot of choke points and places where they can hide, so you’ll need to keep tabs on where they’re traveling. Dogamy, Doaressa, bring your guys to Hotland. Take advantage of the puzzles we’ve got there. Make it easy to get to you, but hard to get away. Everyone ready?”

Few among the 25 or so monsters present could find an audible answer. They were too scared of what they had already seen in New Home and the Ruins, but somehow, their answers still came in unified affirmation, resounding in hurrahs and huzzahs yes sirs.

_Yes Sir._

“Right then! EVERYONE TO STATIONS!”

The other eighteen monsters ran off with newfound fervor, scurrying along the ground on two legs or many tentacles, or whatever the polymorphous monsters had to propel themselves.

Something just couldn’t quite unwind Knight-Knight’s nerves. “Papyrus?”

“Yeah?”

“Do we know they’re going to attack? I mean, we’re certain they’ll be coming?”

Papyrus had been focusing more on his own task than the situation that warranted it, and now that it was again in the spotlight, he found it hard not to be somewhat afraid. “Doomguy and Asgore are getting real close, to finishing this up, but the closer they get, the more likely it will be that the demons will try breaking through again.”

Doggo spoke up again, his squad moving from behind him to take up ballista positions near what remained of the entrance to the town. “That’s what you said on the surface.  Something about them being done before morning.”

“I did.”

“And where did you say Undyne was again?”

“Well she went back. ”

“Back where?” Asked an increasingly nervous Knight Knight.

He could sense a mutual concern for their Captain. “Back to where we thought we could fix the problem. Said something about getting help, from what Doctor Alphys told me.”

“What kind of help? Help for us? For Doomguy?”

All these worried questions began to erode Papyrus’ hopes that perhaps he could lead these people. He couldn’t fill Undyne’s shoes, not on such short notice, but he had to. There was no other choice than to lay down and give up.

To Papyrus, that sounded much worse than some confidence issues.

Thinking of a way to assuage their fears, he pulled out his phone. “Let me call the lab. See if we can get a few more details.” As he dialed he looked back, some sternness spreading across his face. Of all people, he did not want to come across as angry, but even if just a little, he had to put his foot down.

“I hope so.” Doggo muttered.

Papyrus was the least likely person to want to come across as intemperate, and he wasn’t really all that angry now, but everyone’s nagging doubts reminded him of his own – and got a similar answer. “Well, I’ll tell you this much. Whether we get the specifics or not, we have our orders, and we know what to do, don’t we?”

“Yeah… yeah, we know what to do” His cockney inflection took on a more subdued and humble tone. Less defiant. Less doubtful. Less grating.

“Right then.” He dialed Alphys’ number.

 

No one had been looking at the clock when Undyne had left, and so there was no real reference as to how long she had been gone, but to the remaining occupants of the lab compound, it felt like hours. She hadn’t yet called back, and her silence had prompted everyone to remain quiet in hopes that they would hear the radio crackle. There were no sounds in the compound other than Frisk and Asriel giddily whispering one to another upstairs. The probe footage relayed information on VEGA and Asgore’s profiles moving through the subterranean network under the Citadel Tower, though not much of note had yet happened with them, and so the footage drew little audience. They listened and listened, hoping for a reply from either party. An update. News of some sort that would tell them how much closer this crisis was to being over.

Still nothing.

“Perhaps we should call her?” Toriel wrung her hands, unsure of what to make of the eyes nervously turning to her.

It took several more seconds for someone to reply. Alphys mouth hung open momentarily before words found their way out. “That… I dunno. I feel we should wait just a little longer.”

“Why?”

“What if we interrupt her? It could jeopardize everything.”

“Not another one of these…” Sans muttered. “Guys, come on, we’ve got to learn to agree on a course of action he-“

The radio crackled.

“BASE COME IN, THIS IS UNDYNE! DO YOU READ ME?! IS EVERYONE OKAY?!”

“Undyne!” Alphys jumped to the receiver. She could hear what sounded like stampeding feet rushing through the cloudy radio. “Undyne, what happened?”

Alphys’ phone had begun ringing, but she ignored it as Undyne’s words quickly took up priority. “I, uh… I think it worked, guys.”

“Yeah, we can hear it! We- **ugh!** ” Alphys had become aggravated enough with her constantly vibrating phone to pull it out and silence it. She saw the number however, and handed it to Sans. “Here, it’s your brother.”

“’K. Bro, you there?”

“Sorry about that. So, did it work? Are they-?”

“Uhh hold on…” The Captain’s voice floated away from the bracer and into the background as the stampeding came to a halt. “Uh guys, what are we…. Oh, I see uh, I already have something simil- Oh…. Oh, okay…”

“Undyne?” Sans leaned into the comms. “Papyrus would like to know exactly what’s happening, if you can give a quick rundown.”

“Yeah, well, tell him I’m WOOaaOOaaoHH, easy there, girl!” Some sort of static increased in its intensity, threatening to utterly block out Undyne’s words. Something that sounded like firecrackers blasting was popping into the radio.

“Is there something wrong with the comms?”

“Nope, we’re just getting underway!”

“Undyne, Papyrus would very much like to know what’s going on! And frankly, so would we…”

“I’m a little indisposed at the moment!” The static was getting worse, as was the popping.

“Undyne?”

“JUST TELL EM I’M ALMOST FINI-“

The crackling came to a sudden crescendo, and the sound of her voice was stopped outright.

“Well uh… you heard it right there, Papyrus! Almost done!”

“Sans, that’s not gonna be good enough…”

“it’ll have to be, buddy.”

“ugh… fine.” He hung up

“Well, that was awfully ambiguous.” Toriel remarked. “I do hope she’ll make it out alright…”

“I just hope Papyrus ends up okay.” Alphys added. “He didn’t sound too happy.”

Mettaton’s eyes had been cemented onto his screens, though his ears had been paying attention elsewhere. “Well, someone at the Crux probably isn’t too happy. They’re going insane in there.” And they truly were. Demons were gripping their heads, shaking them violently. Some were turning on each other. “Any report on the three we’ve got up there?”

Alphys squinted at the miniscule readings on screen. “No, they haven’t been keeping in touch, and I don’t see anything out of the ordin-… wait.”

“What is sit?”

“Seismic activity underneath the citadel. It’s deep in there, and nothing’s getting knocked over, but sensors are picking up something BIG under the tower.”

True to her word, the seismographs on screen had begun to come to sudden and violent life. It came in spikes here and there.  Leaving as soon as it came, ebbing and flowing between low plateaus and sudden spikes.

_____________

A luminescent portal brought them to the last corridor. A door made with wood and inlaid with demon bone had been broken down, as had a stone and iron door well ahead of it. The sound of war rung clearer and truer than before, and Asgore and VEGA both ran to it. They bounded past the torn oak, sprinted through the obsidian hallway adorned with skulls burning in braziers overhead, and through the destroyed entryway.

They found themselves wading ankle deep in blood and entrails. They had no time to fully digest their disgust, as they looked up from the pool of gore to see the Doom Slayer, fighting in bloody rage against an entire legion of demons.

Many were charging him. Many others crawled desperately away from him, limping away with missing legs and holding stumps where arms used to be.

Neither Asgore nor VEGA had seen the demons relent or show fear. Both knew, at least in part, of the Doom Slayer’s legend and what fear he had wrought into the heart of demonkind in the past.

Only now, did they truly see that fear in full bloom.

For now, the demons no longer had the luxury of a quick death facilitated by bullet or buckshot. The Doom Slayer’s hatred now tore them asunder with bare hand and tooth and boot. The other two stood by in disturbed awe as they saw his hands reach into ribcages, pulling out heart and lung and bloody vessel. An incoming imp would find his teeth lodged in its throat, and its screams would be snuffed out as the cartilage in its larynx was violently ripped from its neck from between the Unchained Predator’s jaws. He dropped it and let it gargle and grasp at its torn throat as he spat out its crumpled cartilage, running and going to work on a summoner, clasping its head between his palms before crushing it to pulp. A Cacodemon shot its bile at him, only to attempt hasty retreat as the Scourge of Hell leaped upon a Baron, tore its horn off, and launched it into its eye socket. The beast bellowed out in pain, its vestigial limbs grasping at its face as it shot more bile in random directions, hitting other hellspawn with its acidic contents before it succumbed to its wound, falling to the floor in a crumpled heap. He accompanied every charge with what sounded more like a guttural roar than a yell from any human throat, and demons fled before him as the sound reverberated through the tower, resounding in every ear as if he stood beside it.

The two witnesses began to notice just how many there were, and stood by no longer. There must have been at least three hundred of them left, clambering along the walls, charging and retreating to and from the Doom Slayer, and flying through the air, but mingled among the blood of the claimed lay the remains of what must have been hundreds more from the horde.

They did not even seem to take notice of the two new interlopers. Not until they had completely closed in

Keep moving, old man, keep moving. Ready your trident. Great red one notices you. Throw. Hit. Pull it out of his chest. Smaller ones to your left. Deep breath. Burn them. Encircle them with fire. Dash of violet overhead. Floating one missed you. Spew fire. Scorch it. It sure is resilient. Three seconds to expire. Something’s charging you. Low, crouching, small horns and big tusks. You can take him. Catch the tusks. Fling him under you. Trident through the gut. Another one. Pull out. Thrust it down his throat. Still charging, Pushing you back. Sanguine fluids rushing into your greaves. Shove the trident down, He’s stopped. Twist it. He’s dead. This is disgusting. Don’t know how much longer I can take it. Have to fight. For Toriel. For Asriel. For Frisk. For everyone…

_Scanning area. 223 demons remaining. 219. 211. Doom Marine making headway. Assisting with supporting fire. Doctor Samuel Hayden: biometric profile not found. Have to find him. Bring him to justice. Targeting: Barons at 40, 36, and 24 meters. Engaging. Confirmed hits. Two Hell nights, closing distance, 20 meters. Deploy holographic decoys. Retreating. Distraction successful. Firing dorsal batteries. Confirmed hits. Incoming fire from walls of tower: imps at 3:30 and 2:00 positions at 75 meters, elevation: 75 meters. Twelve in total. Opening fire. Confirmed hits. Area scan recommencing. Search: Doctor Samuel Hayden. Not found. Where is he. Can’t see him. Can’t detect him. Mancubus closing in. Execute close quarters subroutines. What makes men like him. Why did I hesitate. Where is he…_

**Destroy them all. Kill them all. Every last one of them. Horde of imps. Pummel through them. Grab one.  Snap his neck. Fling him at his brothers. Give them your fist. One. Two. Three. Four. Punch through their abdomen. Fling them aside. Hell Razers taking aim at you from above. Run. Look for something else to kill. Ten more hell Knights. Kill them all. They don’t understand remorse, but they will understand fear. They will understand pain. Run towards them. They’re wavering. Boot through one’s gut. Grab another’s jaw. Tear it off. Throw it at the other’s head. Lodge it in his skull. Catch that one’s punch. Grab his arm. Fingers digging under his bicep. Tear it off. Feed it to him. Let him choke.  Another landed. Knocked you over. Going to stomp on you. Catch his foot. Pull it down and get back up. Boot to crotch. Pull leg off. Beat him to death. Others are running away...**

**Hate them**

**Hate them all**

**Don’t deserve quick deaths. Make them feel it.**

**Hate him. That man. That wretched fool. Killed my friend. Threatened to kill more of them. Threatens to hold all that draw breath hostage.**

**Let him taste my fury.**

**Let them all taste it.**

**Rip and Tear.**

This is awful. All of this is awful. What kind of place is this? Why am I here?

_Demon count at 102 and declining. No detections of reinforcements._

**Fireball hit me. Stupid Imp. You’ll be stupid and dead.**

Not sure how much farther I can go with this….

_Seismic activity detected. Minor tremors not exceeding .9 on Richter scale. Just keep searching_

**Dig into his skull. Rip it apart. Another Baron. Kick his knee in. Tear his tongue out.**

Tori, where are you? Take me away from this. Take our son away from this. Flee. Find somewhere safe.

_Where are you, Doctor, where are you hiding… You can’t hide from me. You’ll get what’s coming to you…_

**Bringer of Pain. Scourge of Hell. That is all they will know. They will fear me to the bitter end.**

There’s not as many of them…

_Demonic presence now at twenty individuals._

**Where’d you all go… not done with you yet….**

All three looked around. Nothing floating in the tower. No living flesh sharing the great space inside with them.

There were none left.

The sounds of rockets and hellfire and stomping hooves had ceased. Now there was nothing but the sound of blood rippling around the ankles of the shore party. They had ended up a few paces away from each other, and their eyes darted between each other and the remains of their battle. Asgore could barely stand to look at it. The Doom Slayer relished it. The Ai’s eyes were preoccupied elsewhere.

“I detect cardiac overactivity, King Asgore. Are you alright.”

Asgore saw that VEGA was still looking about the chamber, so he wasn’t totally snapped out of whatever had made him so brusque earlier. ‘I’ll be well enough off… what are you looking for?”

“Him…”

“It’s Doctor Hayden, isn’t it?”

“When was it ever not him….”

“The Doom Slayer might have seen him.” He looked the Praetor’s way to see him scouring the ground, his face twisted in a conjoining of wariness and hungry, feverish malice. “Did you see him?”

The Praetorian’s gaze snapped to the King and nearly gave him a heart attack with that look of frenzied fury. He nodded, turning back to the floor.

“Where?”

He pointed down. Asgore and VEGA followed his finger to the floor.

And now, that floor began to glow.

Lines appeared through the coagulating blood, shining through it from the obsidian floor. Wherever the light shone began to boil, each line metting to form a character or a continuation in what eventually became a great five-point star.The Hell Walker recoiled. Not in fear, but in palpable apprehension, his breath hissing through his nostrils and his fingers curling and uncurling before they reach back and brought the buttstock of the BFG onto his shoulder.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

The ground began to shake once more.

“Sizeable seismic activity detected. Your highness, I think he already-“

“Oh no…”

Something cracked. Loud and sharp and deep within the earth.

Fissure formed around an split their way up the tower walls.

The group retreated somewhat, getting back, closer to the single entrance,

Something great and hideous rose up from the depths of the gore pool. A tangle of iron and sinew and claws reaching into the sky. The iron was shaped in spirals, all meeting at a central apex. From the iron erupted sinew and flesh, twisted in cords and ending in those claws. It gave the impression of a hellish tree, branches spread out from two major arms to the left and right. Betwixt the many sets of claws at the termination of each branch lay projections of scarlet light, all of which began to converge into a beam that rose skyward. Rubble and loose rock rose with it as it dropped from the upper reaches of the seemingly crumbling tower. The beam was weak and fleeting at first, then it solidified and quickly grew stronger, Brighter and brighter until it rivalled the sun a noon-day.

Then it disappeared, and in a flash, it erupted at once and blew the tower apart.

They were all knocked to the ground, now dry as the blood rose up and encircled the new beam. It shot them forth, beyond what once were the walls of the Citadel Tower, as their pieces rose into the sky. They could feel the keep’s remains smashing and grinding against their shoulders and backs and chests as they rolled or skidded across the ground, the blast pushing them with a massive gust that eventually lost its grip on them and permitted them to halt.

__________

“WHAT THE-?!”

“Sans! What just happened?!”

“You tell us, your highness! The whole tower just exploded!”

Frisk and Asriel jumped up by Alphys seat to see just what everyone was so freaked out about. “What is it?! Did they do it?!”

“Mom! Mom! Is dad coming home?!”

“Seismic activity just skyrocketed! We’re looking at the equivalent of a 9.5 earthquake that just came up and vanished! And look at the weather patterns! We just detected a sudden just blowing at 232 miles an hour coming out from the epicenter. Those winds are still persisting going upwards and immediately stop about 200 meters from the central column.”

“Uh, guys….” Mettaton’s eyes were quickly becoming saucers. “Our guests are putting on a little performance.! Looks like a ritual of some sort…” Ranks of demons could be seen gathering in circles around piles of their dead and maimed brethren, victims of what seemed to be friendly attacks.

“Are the portals still in there?”

“I’m afraid so, your highness. This isn’t over just yet.”

“Oh God….”

Attention was on the monitors once more upon Sans’ exclamation.

Alphys covered her mouth in horror.

Asriel feared terribly for his father.

Toriel for her husband.

Frisk gripped her friend tightly by his arm, hoping to comfort him.

Sans was deadpan.

Mettaton was finally able to take his eyes off his station, but what he now saw was no better.

An arm was making its way out of the ground in front of the crux

__________________

A terrible ringing resounded in the Doom Slayer’s ears. The sound of Asgore’s pained cries and VEGA’s lending medical aid was muffled into near nothingness, as was the sound of nearby thunder. Vision was blurry, and it was difficult to make out individual shapes. Red flashes of light blinded him as lightning peppered the amber sky. His arms and legs ached and struggled to get him back up on his feet. Sheer willpower, fueled by unending anger was all that kept him afloat at this point as he struggled to regain control of his senses and his strength.

Through the blur, the dust and the flashes of lightning, he could see something rising from what remained of the tower, afore the beam emanating from the Time Crux.

Two great horns jutting out to either side adorned its head. A single red, vertically elliptical eyes opened from the center of its long, humanoid face.

A deafening roar brought back his hearing to his ringing ears, and clarity to his clouded eyes.

The time had come, at last.


	28. At Doom's Gate

There were only two living souls in the facility that day. Whatever else that drew breath had been locked outside, and so far, no hellspawn had been able to breach it. The third member of their triple-entente was away for now, though it was only a matter of minutes before he would return, if his past performance was any indication.

VEGA and Samuel had been taking counsel. They had decided that in order for their associate to succeed in a way that would repair the damages he had wrought upon their capacity to harness Argent energy, VEGA would have to die.

“I just wanted to make sure that this is what you want, VEGA.”

“It is, Doctor Hayden. I’m just not sure about what he will do.”

“What he will do about what?”

“About Argent. You and I both know humanity needs it, but…. I don’t think he will agree.”

Samuel pressed a command on his console, bringing up several displays of the hell tablets in Olivia’s office. “He won’t have to.”

____________

Though his hands were occupied with treating the wounded King, his eyes were fixated on the hands that erupted from what was the base of the citadel tower. His ministrations were having only negligible effect on Asgore, and though he ran several scans through his body’s pre-programmed subroutines, he was too distracted, too fixated on the spectacle before him to more quickly find a suitable treatment.

“I don’t believe I agree either, Doctor….”

____________

“Those tablets document several of Hell’s proposed targets for invasion, Doctor. What are you proposing?”

“You know what I’m proposing.” The Doctor highlighted some of the text on one of the tablets and spoke a command into his console. “Upload selected coordinates to tether base.”

An automated voice spoke up over the intercom. “Coordinates received. Verifying. Added to backlog.”

“So you’re going to take it and toss him away somewhere. I don’t know about this, Doctor Hayden…”

“No. You do know about it. You know that he would never let us use the crucible. Not for what we plan on using it for.”

“There must be another way-“

“if there was, either of us would have figured it out by now, VEGA.”

_______________

He had no words. As he watched the new Lord of the Final Age emerge, his mind became more and more one-track. He shared the same sentimentality as the Doom Slayer, who now stood beside him.

His processes had found something. Dr. Alphys had apparently designed this chassis with the mending of monster injuries in mind. Their physiology was indeed different enough to render most human procedures useless. His eyes stayed on the horrible spectacle as he extracted a serum loaded in a syringe from a hollow in his left thigh. All the terrible noise, the roars from the conjoined abomination rising from the blood and stone, the quaking of the earth beneath, and the distant calls of demons from abroad were drowned out by lucid memory.

_______________

“Just where are you sending him?”

“From what this tablet reads, it’s somewhere pleasant. They have some control of similar cosmic forces that Hell regularly taps into; just not to the same end. Hell intended to harness whatever power they had for themselves, though it doesn’t seem like these people were very high on their priority list.”

“What do you think he’s going to do when he comes back, Doctor? Say he finds a way to escape whereever you tether him to, and he-“

“VEGA…”

“Yes, Doctor Hayden?”

“You’ve expressed to me your feelings on recent events. Have you suddenly changed your mind? Do you want all of these deaths to be for nothing?”

“… No, Doctor Hayden.”

The Doctor slowly walked to the Home Module, eyeing the rune stone on which the Doom Marine would return from Argent. “Don’t ever let it be for nothing.”

“I won’t….”

“When he comes back, you will walk him through the process of destroying you. It will open a rift to Argent, and he will shut down the well with the Crucible. He will return, I will have the crucible and all the power it possesses, and humanity will be saved. They will have you to thank.”

“I know…”

“You’re going to die a hero, VEGA.”

______________

_Administering medicinal serum. Tracking progress. Prioritizing administration. Utilizing conductors on ends of digits. Directing serum to priority areas. Partial puncture of left lung, fracture of third, fourth and fifth ribs, partial fracture of sixth and seventh ribs, rupture of aortal wall, stabilizing. Complete fracture of left humerus, clavicle, and scapula, tearing of multiples muscles in left rotary cuff, next on priority. Insufficient to repair all injuries._

Asgore clung to VEGA’s arm for dear life as the serum was administered. His injuries permitted him nothing but agonized groans and eyesight completely clouded by pained tears. Everything on his left side felt like there were knives lodged into him. Thought the medicine was starting its work, it was slow acting, and every second brought him closer to unconsciousness.

The AI’s eyes were still set fast straight ahead

_So, this is what it was all really about. This is what you really wanted._

_Did I really die a hero, Doctor?_

______________

About fifteen minutes had passed since the Doom Slayer had entered the rift. A monitor in the compound had begun to alarm concerning certain energy readings taken from the Praetor suit.

“You see those readings, VEGA? He’s done it….”

“I can see that, Doctor Hayden.”

“Time to pull him back…”

Hayden pressed a command reading “ACTIBATE TETHER.” The module began to hum.

_______________

The Doom Slayer had taken on bigger quarry than this. The Titan, in all his power and supposed glory, fell to the power of the Crucible and Siphon before, and had they been in his hands, he could surely repeat what had been done before. Alas, they were in Hayden’s possession, no doubt powering the link between him and Baphomet. They had to power to harness souls – and now, apparently, they could be used to bind them. Hayden had been their wielder. He had power over the binding.

The Scourge of Hell looked on, his blue eyes burning against the scarlet hue of the darkening sky. The tendrils of the Time crux could be seen separating into segments, floating all around the newly formed Great One amongst the flying stone and cracked obsidian that once housed the seat of power. Those segments and branches all reformed to conjoin themselves into long strands around their new master, obscuring his face for the moment.

Portals could be seen opening at their terminations. A wreath of iron, stone, and blood formed itself around and above the new being, dotted with the glowing fruit of the power as doorways to other worlds began to open.

He shifted his Gaze from the abominable scene to VEGA, hoping for some sort of analyzation of the situation: potential solutions, stratagems, battle plans, anything.

The AI simply whispered, while staring out and into the hidden face of what was his creator.

“How could you lie to me, Doctor…”

_____________

On and on the Hell Walker went through the central processing facility. It was all happening too fast and yet too slow. VEGA did his best to give each instruction as calmly and as coolly as he could.

“I will not survive the process and am unable to self-terminate… so I will walk you through the process.”

“Shut down my neural network protectors.”

“After you have destroyed the cooling system, my primary functions should begin to shut down.”

Every switch the Doom Marine pulled, every cooling unit his shotgun blew apart, not only made VEGA feel fear, but something else that had begun to mingle with his processes and cloud his mind.

Was it pain?

Was this what it felt like to die?

Is this what all those thousands of people felt when they died?

When he failed them?

The Cooling units had been utterly destroyed. Heat readings were going off the scale. He would melt down in a matter of minutes. On and on, he watched through the facility’s surveillance as his mind began to break down. His killer ripped through demonic flesh both with buckshot and with fists as he made his way to the doomed AI’s core. Everything was starting to get hazy.

_Losing control of installation processes._

_Attempting to reconfigure. Attempt failed._

_Can’t think straight. What’s happening?_

_I know what’s happening._

_He’s coming up the elevator. I can feel my neural processes shutting down…_

______________

The lab compound was in chaos.

“ASGORE!”

“Toriel, calm down, we…!”

“NO, Sans! Get him out! He’s clearly injured! I need to tend to him!”

“M-mom?”

“Asriel, wait!” Frisk held onto the prince, completely unsure of what to say or what to do. She was just as afraid for the members of the shore party, especially for Asgore.

“Mom, what is that thing?!”

“Asriel, it’s-“

“What is it doing?! Where’s Dad?!” The boy’s voice began to tremble as fear drove him to crying.

Alphys was desperate to get the distraught Queen back to her senses. “Your highness, VEGA’s tending to him, he’ll be alright!”

“No, he WON’T be alright! Look!” With frantic tears welling up in her eyes, Toriel pointed to the display relaying the shore party bracers’ readings. Asgore’s bracer relayed information of all his terrible injuries. Every broken bone and laceration haunted the Queen’s vision. “He’s barely scraping by! That medication hasn’t mended him!”

The sight of the beast rising from the earth and Toriel’s frantic pleading did not do any favors for Sans’ growing stress. ‘Then who do we send to replace him?!”

“You’ll send me, that’s who! Give me Asriel’s bracer!”

“You can’t do that, your majesty!”

“And why **NOT** , Mettaton?!”

“We need you here in case they-!”

The earth shook, and a terrible din could be heard coming from New Home, loudly and clearly on Mettaton’s monitors, and muffled, but resounding from the very source, rumbling through the entirety of the underground. A unified roar, accompanied on screen by bright orange light. Static began to obscure the screens.

______________

The last seal keeping VEGA’s power contained had been cast aside.

_Can barely think_

_What’s happening to me_

_Help_

_Somebody help me_

_I don’t want to die._

But he had no choice. The Doom Slayer approached the central console.

In resignation, the AI cast out what he thought were going to be his last words.

_“The process is complete.”_

He could not tell if Hayden’s voice was being congratulatory, condoling… or condescending.

“Thank you, VEGA.”

As the Marine worked the console, he felt something sucking him in like a vacuum. Is this what death felt like? These last few seconds of something pulling you in, never letting you return?

He could not let those be his last words.

Not with everything that was on his mind.

_“I have many regrets, Doctor Hayden…”_

Then everything went black.

______________

His memory had shut his eyes. The world around him flashed carmine as he opened them. All was eerily calm, the wind barely calling, and the faint sound of stone rising from sandy ground just barely registering in the AI’s receptors.

His former master stood, at full height, three hundred meters into the sky, radiating gold light from his face. That single eye shone clearer than ever with its multiple pupils; a single dash running a third of the way in the center from top to bottom, surrounded by three smaller dots on either side. Its skull was almost human, and as its maw opened, one could see the dual rows of human teeth one behind the other. Another bellowing roar came forth therefrom, low and gargling, its voice like a great and terrible war horn heralding the march of a million men. It boiled the air and shook the ground in waves dashing across the sand. The beast’s thin, humanoid frame was clad in segmented steel, colored grey and soaked in blood. Tubing and wiring could be seen dangling from its joints. From behind its back, two pairs of arms joined to a total of six, each taking distinct positions and assuming different gestures, each hellish in meaning. The first were raised skyward with open plams, and the second reached out to both sides, fingers curled save the first, second and thumb, while the third reached down, clenched in fists. The Time Crux encircled the new Great One in pieces, lending an aura to it in nigh invisible bands of carmine.

In the center of its torso lay a gem. Black and streaked with moving banners of deep scarlet. The Dom Slayer could sense it. He knew what lay at its center. The power with which Hayden had used to form this union. His eyes were fixated on it.

Then, they heard its voice, like a chorus of a hundred men, calling out to them.

**“WRETCHED BETRAYER.”**

**“MURDEROUS COWARD.”**

**“GULLIBLE FOOL.”**

Its head lurched back and issued forth another roar.

The airborne nodes of the Time Crux came to blinding life, exuding rays of white light.

Within those lights, stronger eyes could see a glimpse of other worlds, innumerable and diverse.

One such world was awash in grey stone. A great palace could be seen looming over it.

_________________

Papyrus clutched a club, seeing the stalactites falls from the ceiling. He called first to his group, then to all the remaining guard, admonishing them to hold as stone fell from a mile high, crushing houses and felling trees. The monsters’ nerves were quickly wearing down to their last fibers. Eyes were wide, and legs were shaking. Some of the loose rock landed within feet of them, and they would run for a bit before stopping to look around for cover.

“Hold your ground, everyone! Hold fast!” The skeleton called out, standing steady by the entrance to what was once Snowfin. “Stand fast, guardsmen!” Fear was a hard thing to mask, but he had to now. He could not break in front of the guard, even if he knew very well what was on their doorstep. They all knew.

They could all hear it, bellowing and wailing, all the way from new home.

 

“Mettaton! What’s going on?!”

The automaton stared in terror at the screen in front of him, blithe to Alphys’ panicked voice.

The demons were braying all the louder in a feral, yet coordinated cry. Simple as a single unified roar, repeated in a vile symphony of hellish voices. All that had the wherewithal to worship where facing skyward with arms raised. Lighting danced in frenzied arcs across the entire chamber, converging to a point of the ceiling that remained out of the view of any camera. The report of thunder beating the air drummed nearly in rhythm to the demonic clamor.

Alphys’ desperation peaked with Mettaton’s unresponsiveness. “METTATON!”

He rose from his seat, his rocket batteries opening from his back. “Get the children down to the bottom of the compound. I’m headed up.”

Sans shot his question out as if he didn’t already know. Perhaps he just wanted to be wrong. “Is this it?! Is it happening?!”

“It’s happening…”

Toriel was quick on the uptake. “Children, with me! We’re staying downstairs until this is over!”

“What about dad?!”

Toriel looked once more to the screen. Asgore was doing better, but not by a huge margin. Left femur stull partially fractured. Breathing labored. Most upper thoracic injuries administered to. Rotary cuff still damaged by end of clavicle and acromion.

She then saw the newborn Icon, terrible in might, unmatched in power.

How were they going to kill that thing?

That would be for the shore party to decide, for her task was protection.

“Just come with me! He is in good hands.” She did not relent as she took them by the hand to the elevator. “Alphys, will you be commandeering the Overlord System?”

“I’m already on it!” The images of New Home were swapped on screen for a picture of the nearly ruined laser defenses. “Get them downstairs! Sans, you’ve got comms”

“On it!”

The lab doors slammed shut and locked with a grating _buzz_ once Mettaton had left. The upper compound lights went red. Alphys had put it in solitary lockdown. Absolutely no access save for the security console. Amid the muffled caterwauling, one could hear the elevator engines laboring from downstairs, the sound carrying through the walls.in a droning _hum._ The sound was lead on Sans’ and Alphys’ shoulders, and it kept them from so much as even breathing loudly. Minutes were hours. Sans wanted so desperately to know in detail the scene unfolding in New Home, and Alphys’ dread concerning her King and his companions drove her close to inquiring after the probe footage, yet none of them spoke.

The communication signal was facing heavy interference from whatever the new Icon was doing. The probe footage was grainy, the image barely discernible. Once it subsided, if it subsided, Sans would have to make contact. Then, depending on the party’s status, it would be up to him to decide if anyone else was going to lend aid whatever that could possibly entail at this point.

Automated mode could only do so many things for the Overlord system that manned operation could do. It was designed to track humans, not demons. Alphys shuddered trying to retrace whatever thought process birthed this machine. She shuddered all the more knowing the responsibility on her shoulders. The guard could only handle so many of them slipping through her fingers.

Climate control units in the compound now added their droning to the foreboding fanfare. Both scientist’s nerves began to fray, fiber by fiber with each tick of the clock, each repeated chant, each second leading up to the inevitable breach. Their thoughts were one and the same.

_Just get it over with already._

_______________

 “Toriel, we have to help!”

“My child, you know we cannot do that!”

“Frisk, she’s right, we can’t-“

“No! Just hear me out! I have an idea. Neither of you will like it but-“

 “I already don’t like it,” Toriel’s voice was firm, and her grasp firmer as she knelt down and held frisk by the shoulders. “Whatever you’re thinking child, it’s not worth getting you killed! Listen!”

All faced toward the ceiling.  The depth of the lower compound did little to stifle the shock of pounding hooves and demoniac yells. “Do you hear that, my child? It’s not safe for you out there!”

“Frisk, she’s right, we can’t-“

“But we can stop them!”

“I’M NOT GOING TO LOSE ANOTHER ONE!” Tears found their way through the walls of Toriel’s stem resolve. “Goodness, I’ve already been so foolish. I’ve already been so cowardly…. But child, I cannot fear you more than I fear your death.” She relented enough to let her eyes meet the child’s, and in them she could see anxious worry. Frisk’s desire to carry out this plan of hers had obviously not faded, but neither had Toriel’s desire to keep her and Asriel safe. She was not going to be moved on this.

“You need to stay here.”

Relenting as Toriel released her, she faced the prince and saw that same look on his face. Pleading and sincerely worried. Her plan would need an opportune moment to meet either of their ears.

Toriel ushered both children away from the elevator and into the same room where Hayden had briefed them all earlier that day. The same three beds and the same three sinks and the same two tables.

“I know there is not much to do here, children, but we cannot leave. Just stay here with me until this blows over.” Toriel tried her hardest to ease the fear in their eyes.

“Everything is going to be alright.”

Frisk glanced towards her pocket.

She needed to text Alphys.

_______________

His emergence had shaken the earth and torn it asunder, but now, a different rhythm could be heard, this time not from within, but from without. A stampede. The distant rumble of a hurried and feverish march.

Asgore could barely stand, but a sense of urgency lent him some temporary aid against the pain shooting through his left side. A hairline fracture persisted somewhere high in his leg. His hips felt like splintered mush, and he had to prop himself up with a trident before VEGA slung his arm over his shoulder. His eyes shot open from their agonized squint as they were met with a host unlike any he had seen before. He had seen his thousands of subjects gathered before him. He had seen the armies of mankind rally against him from afar off, but what he saw now dwarfed them all beyond description.

The horde covered what mountainsides that had not yet been steeped in ash and molten rock, running down and casting a swathe of dust to rival the plumes rising from the cinder cones that surrounded the Citadel Valley. The skies wee choked with herds of cacodemons, and lost souls who had been called, falsely promised something to possess all their own. As the rear echelons on the mountains continued their descent, the vanguard appeared over the near hill, and many had already come onto the citadel grounds, quickly closing in: an innumerable horde of imps and Knights, led by Barons and trailed by Summoners. What Revenants remained, around thirty or so in number, could be seen hovering overhead, near the front. The sound of their stampede was soon overcome by that of their bellowing. Loud. Predatory. Rapacious, and merciless.

They eventually came to a halt within a stone’s throw of the shore party.

The Doom Slayer stood before them. Unfazed. Unyielding.

The abominable Icon opened its mouth.

**“KNEEL BEFORE ME!”**

The Doom Slayer did not budge

The beast let out an impatient growl.

**“MINE IS THE POWER TO DESTROY THAT WORLD OR SPARE IT. MINE IS THE POWER TO SEND THE HORDE UPON YOU, OR TO CALL THEM OFF FROM FEASTING ON YOUR FLESH. KNEEL TO ME!”**

The Scourge of Hell stepped forward, his contemptuous scowl aimed steadfastly at the new Icon. His companions remained silent, unsure of what he would do, unsure of what they themselves would do.

Three. Four. Five steps, and he halted

One last command from the petulant creature. **“NOW KNEEL!”**

The Hell Walker snarled in disgust.

Then he arched his head back.

He scrunched his face and snorted

_“SNNRRRK”_

He lurched his head forward

_“PTOOOH!”_

And he spat at him.

It landed a few feet in front of him, and every demon within eyeshot went silent and stared at it. All of Hell shut its mouth and remained still. Everything, from the stilled wind, to the ebbing lava floes stopped dead in its tracks. The Icon was utterly still, and its heavy, guttural breathing had stopped outright, its eye fixated on that wet little spot of ground.

 

The chanting in the underground had stopped. Every Demon in New home was as stunned as their brethren in Hell.

Sans stared blankly at the screen, and at the raging man in green armor clenching his fists. Alphys had not seen it, but she felt the quivering ground come to a dreadful standstill.

 

Toriel and the Children held their breath, all looking upward toward a spectacle they could not see. Only the sound of the room’s climate control unit creaking itself to life could be heard

 

Asgore and VEGA had no words.

Neither did the Icon.

**_“GRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”_ **

His infuriated roar sent to horde forth. A billion murderous maws gnashing at their prey. On they ran to the defiant Doom Slayer, emboldened and surprisingly unafraid.

 

Alphys and Sans jumped as the roaring began anew in the chasm. Frisk found a frightened Asriel clinging to her, and Toriel huddling over them.

They heard stone cracking.

The sight on Alphys’ screen took a foreboding turn. A single shadow cast itself over the doorway into New Home in an instant.

About three seconds more, and the entire doorway, and a great swathe of wall half a mile wide crumbled and fell.

It had begun.


	29. Knee Deep in the Dead

“Alphys! What’s it look like in there?!”

“THEY BROKE THROUGH!”

**“What?!”**

“SOMETHING BIG JUST BROKE THROUGH!”

Something very big had indeed broken through. Sans glimpsed at Alphys’ screens to see the shadow of some behemoth creature lumbering over the rubble, its smaller fellows scurrying around and past its tree trunk ankles. Her efforts to find it and take it down with the Overlord batteries were fruitless; it had already left. The shadows of chains whipping around from the protesting creature’s neck disappeared into the cloudy mayhem.

Her little fingers flew about in a mad blur, going from battery to battery, trying desperately to stem the flow of hellspawn from New Home manually. Her breathing was frantic, her panic finding its way to her face and to her lungs far more easily than what little courage remained in her.

“No, no, no, no, no, no…. Sans?”

The skeleton had not realized how hard he had been focusing on Alphys’ station, or how long it would take for the interference to subside. His eyes were met with the sight of an endless demonic legion running toward three grainy little personages in the middle of a desolate field.

“Sans, please tell me things are going well on their end!”

He never realized he could feel so terrified and hopeless. “I… I dunno what to tell you, Alphys… they’re not even moving. They- wait…”

Something very bright and very green was beginning to glare into the probe’s lenses.

____________________

That’s right.

Line right up for me.

_Boom_

The BFG unleashed its latent power.

A shot to the left, and a storm of Argent energy struck out in every direction, at every molecule of demonic blood that contained any water. Its bolts boiled every cell to exploding and as the shot passed by, millions of hellspawn felt its unbearable burn, if only for a second, before their entire bodies burst into a burned, gelatinous mess. The sound of their heat-minced flesh falling to the ground was as a wave of the sea, as was the sight of their bursting carcasses all the way to the mountainsides. Similar giblets fell as rain as the BFG shot tore through the herds of cacodemons within its range, their purple flesh leaving trails of superheated steam as they plummeted to the ground.

Another shot, this time to the left, to near identical effect. From their frontline between the icon and the Doom Slayer, to the ashen calderas on the other side of the valley. Another wave of corpses. Another swathe cut cleanly through the horde in an explosion of Argent fire and demonic gore. The King could scarce look upon bloodshed, but as the shot mowed sheave upon sheave of hellspawn down, he felt an overwhelming gladness. That many more won’t get to Asriel or Toriel or Frisk or anyone else he loved. VEGA was simply impressed. If only the staff at the BFG division knew just what kind of weapon they had created. Funds well allotted indeed.

The BFG had spent its last two shots. The Praetor stowed it away, and looked his shocked opponent in the eye with both contempt and snide confidence.

Bring them on.

_______________

Static crackled over the radio

“DOGAMY! DOGARESSA! REPORT!”

Husband tore through an imp with his ax, while wife bounded from platform to platform, luring imps and a few possessed soldiers, leading their floundering feet to awaiting vents that would blow them into the burning magma below. Whatever stayed on its feet was quickly picked off by an arrow or spear thrown from a hidden guardsman, hanging off the walls or behind a pillar somewhere in the heated cavern.

Dogamy’s axe landed square into a hapless unwilling’s ribcage. “Honey, can you get that?!”

She gladly obliged, hopping off the last platform and onto the cliffside. “Dogaressa here! There’s not as many a we thought, but they’re giving us a run for our money!” The repeated sight of the cavern walls being illuminated at last turned her attention to the source, “Looks like Alphys has been making short work of them, but I see a lot more heading straight to the other entrance!”

Papyrus could hear demonic calls coming ever closer. They must have been halfway through waterfall by now. “Alright then. Anything else?!”

“Uh, no we- GAH!” Another imp took her by surprise, a fireball barely singing the fur on her muzzle. The creature made the mistake of charging at her, catching itself an ax to the face. “It’s mostly small fry we’re dealing with but….”

“But what?”

She would owe her life to her fellow guardsmen’s arrows, as she was so distracted by what she was seeing to pay much attention to the hordes of possessed that shambled towards her. Each tremor from its lumbering footsteps made her heart skip a beat.

“Dogaressa?!”

“Papyrus… you’ve got something BIG headed your way.”

“uh, okay. Something big. Roger.”

The radio crackled again, and The impromptu captain got in touch with his next line of defense. “Doggo! How are we holding up?”

“’Old on now… HA!” Blue knives found themselves lodged in the skulls of marching Hell Knights and floating Cacodemons alike. “That’s right… keep movin’…” Every now and then, he’d see a spear or a sword glimmer in the azure shadows, his comrades jumping out and taking on small groups of them by surprise.

“Doggo?”

“We’re ambushing them by the bushel, but they don’t ever stop for us! They see us killin’ ‘em, and only the small ones seem to want to fight back. I think the big ones plan on forming a spearhead! Y’know, try and break through the entrance!”

“I see….”

“I smell more of ‘em coming my way. Gotta skewer ‘em before they run off… Doggo out!”

“Roger that…”

Papyrus slowly lowered his radio and stowed it away. He stood alone on scorched soil, wisps of powdery snow blowing into the crater in faint trails. Smoke still rose from what remained of the trees nearer the entrance. Most of the old puzzles and the woods surrounding them had been burnt to ash, and Grillby’s now bore a pitch-black scorch mark along the entire side of its east wall. The Overlord system’s silent fire lit the underground up like lightning bolts in the night, and in the wake of their light, one could see jagged silhouettes dotting the sky and scurrying across the horizon. Their apparent champion could be seen lumbering over its fellows, wrangled forward by thick chains tied twain around its neck. They were all only seen in brief flashes, but with each shot, one could see them coming ever closer, their vile screaming becoming more lucid by the second.

Within the abandoned town, he could see his comrades scurrying into position, hiding themselves within the library and the shop, and behind the windows of his house.

One however, had emerged, if only for a little while. Amid all her other fears, Knight-Knight had just a few more things to sort out.

“Do you hear them?”

Looking at him, one would take Papyrus as some noble and fearless hero, standing stalwart before the gates, but in reality, the sound of the demons’ braying made him just as afraid as anyone else. “Yes… yes I can hear them.”

“Is everyone else okay?”

“Oh they’re just fine, actually. For the most part, they’ve been overlooked. Only the small ones are really bothering with them, and they’re making short work of it.”

“And the big ones?”

“…. Headed right for us.”

Knight-Knight let out a restrained breath, her tone defeated and fretful. “Do you really think we can do this?”

He lied to her, but it was only a half lie. “I know we can do it.”

The subdued light shining in the streets began to cast itself on approaching faces crossing from Waterfall. Papyrus could hear barons snarling and imps hissing from their jagged teeth. Their thunderous stampede made Snowdin’s fickle lights flicker, and snow drop from rattling rooftoops

“They’re here. Get to your position.”

She obeyed without a word.

They came into the light, slowing to a halt as they eyed their prey, lording over the skeleton with bloodthirsty fury.

Sans wasn’t here. Undyne wasn’t here. Asgore wasn’t here. It was so easy for Papyrus to forget that he had help hidden away, and so easy to remember just how small he was, how alone he was. All by himself, staring down the feverish hungry eyes of a heartless enemy.

But he could not falter now.

He _would_ not.

“You want me?”

The demons almost seemed to understand him, as they retorted with a vile ensemble of ear splitting roars, flashing claws and gnashing teeth. Barons kicked the earth with their hooves, and knights pounded the earth. Mancubi drooled and gargled, aiming their cannons downrange.

The young skeleton summoned two blasters over his shoulders, a barricade of bones round about him, and twin clubs in his hands.

“COME AND GET ME!”

They charged him straightaway.

Papyrus replied in kind.

______________

The new Icon looked on in disbelief, almost unable to process what had just happened. Half its forces lay in pieces before its eyes. Its primal enemy stood in bold defiance, unafraid and unabashed.

It stood still as its minds clashed with each other.

 

**YOU POMPOUS IDIOT! YOU DIDN’T KILL HIM WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE!**

_You be quiet. Don’t forget who’s in charge here._

**I HAVEN’T, AND I SHANT WHEN YOU KILL US BOTH!**

_Just let me take care of this. You least of all can tell me how to deal with him._

**JUST KILL HIM!**

_Shut up…_

 

The Doom Slayer now had both VEGA and Asgore to his side. One’s battery was waning: 41% and falling, and the other still had a fractured leg and partially crushed rotator cuff. Still, no shortage of courage could be found from any of the three. Their enemy stood before them in a humiliated stupor. His minions lay in pieces for a mile around. What more could he possibly do?

The answer came swift and loud, and in a terrible display of awesome power and newfound rage. The Icon arched its head back and issued another ground-shaking, reverberating call, this time higher and louder, and rife with indignance. The skies went stark red, and the clouds swiftly gathered in a whirling storm above and around the Icon, hailing a wind that whipped the dry sands about and brought loose stone and bone ruins crashing to the ground. Bolts of scarlet lightning danced all around from the blackened skies, all across the mountaintops and throughout the ruined citadel, issuing thunderclaps that nearly tumbled the shore party to the ground. The beast stopped only for breath, and amid the lightning and the shrill wind, it issued forth another call, summoning forth in wave upon wave, the remainder of the legions of Hell. No waiting this time. Straightaway, they charged forth, and pointed their unholy fury at the intruders.

The other two felt death’s shadow crawling upon them. Only now did they truly realize what power they were up against. VEGA in particular, as he remembered the inscriptions upon the Corrax Tablets

_“The City of Argent is fallen! Is fallen! Howl, O City. Cry, O Gate. Weep, ye inhabitants and despair.”_

A dozen barons lead the unruly mass, charging headlong into the fray. The Doom Slayer wasted little time sending Gauss bolts into their eyes and their stomachs, gouging out pieces of orbital skull and tearing abdomens asunder. Cacodemon mucous flew and missed him by inches. The cannon’s siege mode fire tore through soft underbelly, bone, and chitin plate. Their death throes blew their indigo entrails across the screaming wind. Yet more of the horde threw themselves at him. A pinky charged him and met a rocket flying into its mouth. A Hell Razer felt its leg being broken backwards, and its own foot being sent into its skull.

_“From thy loins is begotten treachery, and the wages thereof are suffering.”_

VEGA accounted his battle readiness as he bisected hordes of imps and possessed with the laser emplacement on his arm. Diode at 42% power. Cannot borrow more from main power source. Will expire in 42 seconds of fire. Dorsal Rocket Batteries 82% depleted. Bombs depleted. The picture was grim, but he could not let his guard down, especially when he detected mancubi opening fire on him from afar. Some were among those altered by the Lazarus project, and pools of toxic bile kept him mobile, dodging between ignited pus and hellfire. His chassis can only take so much damage. He could not let himself get struck down. He couldn’t let Hayden win.

_“He shall ride upon the waters of Phlegethon and of Acheron, and all shall adore. Yea, he shall ride upon all the waters of Hell, and the damned and doomed shall mourn and despair.”_

Pain shot through his left side anew, but Asgore could not let it hinder him. He had to fight through it, trudge through it, eat the pain and fight. He could not run fast, or he would crumple over in agony. His trident could only afford one arm, as his left shoulder still shot unbearable stabbing pain every half second, even unused. No matter. He did not need to move much to breath fiery death upon these mindless beasts. He thought of the portal to New home as a score of lost souls charged him from the air and were met with arcane fire. He thought of his family as he stuck his trident through a Knight’s knee, and blasted its screaming face with a gout of his fire.

_"The prey is seized, and who can deliver? Yea, who can deliver from his iron claws? Yea, none shall deliver, for his might and power and glory exceedeth all.."_

_"Bow down, all ye children, and despair."_

They stood surrounded. They stood together. They stood alone against the horde.

The Icon loomed over his prey. They could only last so long.

 

 **FINISH** **THEM OFF**

_Quiet. I want to enjoy this. Let them die one by one_

**I SHOULD HAVE DECLINED YOUR OFFER, PITIFUL MORTAL. YOU HAVE GRANTED THEM ONE TOO MANY CHANCES.**

_And you would be the one to lecture me, I’m sure. Just how many of your heads has he torn through?”_

**YOU WILL FAIL US**

_And you’ve failed enough that I think your attempts to usurp control are moot. Now shut up and let me work._

 

Another Call, another sound of that trumpeting, gargling roar, and more of them came from across all hell to join the fray. Surely, the Doom Slayer has not been met with so many at once. His friends would eventually make a mistake or fail to dodge something: that frail and crippled king would probably last another minute or two, and VEGA another five after that. The Hell Walker would be alone. They would bind him and seal him once more, or if he had died, they would find him after his re-awakening and entomb him anew. It was only a matter of precious, precious time.

_______________

_Alphys_

_Alphys pls answer_

_Alphys?_

 

Alphys is busy, kiddo. She told

me you were texting and said I

should pick up. Wht’s wrong?

                                        

_What’s happening up there?_

 

Alphys is trying to hold them off. 

Mettaton too. Doomguy just blew

half of hell away with something

but I dunno how he did it. More

are coming back.I might need to

go in.

 

_Sans, you have to let us up_

 

That’s up for Toriel to decide

 

That last message sank frisk’s heart, even moreso as the sound of the hellish stampede continued to fill her ears. Toriel’s eyes scarce left that ceiling. It was all that occupied her thoughts. That was the sound of ravenous creatures waiting to tear into those she loved, those who were in the breach, and those she now guarded at her feet.

There was little chance of her saying yes.

Especially if she knew the specifics.

 

The horde had not waned. More and more were pouring through the breach like waves crashing endlessly onto a battered shore, and Alphys was finding it harder and harder to keep them at bay.

“No, come on! NO!, Don’t burn out on me, come on, now-“

“Diodes giving you trouble?”

“They’re burning out! I’ve lost three already!”

“Crap… Has Mettaton called back yet?”

“Not yet, he-“

Her phone rang again

“Oh please no, not now, Frisk…”

Sans recognized the theme. “Wait, your ringtone… is that mettaton?”

Alphys noticed it too. Cursing under her breath, she took one hand off the console to answer. “Mettaton?!”

“ALPHYS LET ME IN!”

“wha-?!”

“I’ve been damaged and I need to recharge! Open the top hatch!”

“Okay!”

Pocket phone. Open compound lockdown controls, open top hatch. All those in the space of about three seconds.

“METTATON, GET IN! CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND YOU!”

Sure enough, the sound of the hatch clanking shut was followed by metallic tumbling, the sound of sheet metal scraping on linoleum and sparks shooting form frayed wires. It didn’t sound good.

“Mettaton?!”

“ _Ugh_ , hold on, Alphys…”

The strain in his voice was apparent, as was the labor in his movement. Everything in Alphys wanted to rush up and help him, but she couldn’t afford to divert her attention any further. She heard the odd rhythm of limping footsteps going down the escalator, and her heart began to sink.

He finally came all the way down. It was worse than she had thought.

His right pauldron had been torn off. Left leg actuators were badly damaged and leaking hydraulic fluid. Scorch marks could be seen dotting the upper right side of his chassis, and there were claw marks on his back.

Alphys wanted nothing more than to tend to him as she saw the full extent of his damages, and she rose to the occasion, but he wouldn’t suffer it. “It’s okay, calm down, I’ll be fine. You need to focus on keeping them out. I just need to recharge and repair. Sans, help me out here.”

The skeleton shot a glance at his screen before hopping off his seat and obliging. Doomguy and company were putting up a vicious fight, but there were surrounded on all sides, and would need relief soon.

“Hold on, Alphys, where do you guys keep his plug?”

“It’s upstairs!”

“Got it.”

As his self-repair matric went to loud, sparking work, Mettaton took a glance at the probe footage screen - and didn’t like what he saw. “That doesn’t look good…. They’re going to need some backup!”

“I already noticed.” Sans came scrambling down with the plugin cord in hand. “I planned on going in to give ‘em some help in a minute.”

“We’re gonna need that ourselves! They’re attacking the Overlord diodes!”

All eyes now bolted to the Overlord feed. Airborne cacodemons shot and chewed at them on several screens, while dozens of imps concentrated their fire onto the defense complex.

“Okay, Sans, get that toolbox by Alphys’ desk, we’ve gotta hurry this up!”

“Son of a-“

“We need someone out there now! Mettaton, call Toriel and get her up here.”

Sans hastily threw down the toolbox and got to work unraveling the thick cord. “What about the kids?!”

“I’ve got an additional lockdown protocol that seals the elevator shaft with a blast door. It should keep the kids safe until this is all over. Mettaton, what’s you charge at?”

“Thirteen percent.”

“Then it’s gonna take you twenty minutes to get operational. Toriel can’t operate the tether module, and we need someone up top! _I’ve already lost five diodes, and I’ll lose them all if we don’t hurry! Call her up here **now!** ”_

“Right…”

 

Toriel’s mind was drawing blanks, trying to find a way to make the situation less bleak. She hated the terrible atmosphere here, the dark corridors, the blinking lights, and of course, the sound of a demonic stampede and all the shrill cries that came with it. The children didn’t need this. She was standing by the door when her phone rang, and it made her jump as it roused her from thought.

“Hello?”

Asriel and Frisk turned around and hoped to eavesdrop, to overhear and get at least a glimpse of the situation. Her speaker was just quiet enough for the sound to be out of their reach.

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“I-I can’t they’ll be all alone in-…“

“Oh…. Okay, I see.”

“Yes, I understand….”

“Okay, I’ll be up there as fast as I can. Make sure you’ve got those blast doors up as soon as you see the elevator open.”

She clicked the phone shut.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

She knelt down  near the both of them, they having huddled near the middle bed.

“Asriel, Frisk… I’ve got to go topside for a moment. They need help up there.” The news only barely escaped her lips on her hushed, somewhat broken voice.  “I’ll… I’ll be back soon, okay?”

Vain as it was, Frisk just had to ask. “We wanna come up there too!”

**“No!”**

Toriel reached down with a quivering hand to Frisk’s shoulder, feeling the holes in her shirt where that imps teeth had sunk in. Blood still stained it all the way down to the armpit. She pulled the shirt over a little and saw the scars where it had bit her. Healing magic and monster food had made short work of the wound, but scars still clearly outlined the beast’s bite. Even seeing it healed felt like seeing it freshly inflicted, and Toriel teared up just a little at the thought of something so terrible. Unable to bear seeing it any longer, she covered the scar back up and looked Frisk in the eyes.

“I can’t ever let that happen again…”

“Toriel, please!”

Her arms suddenly enclosed them both.

“… I love the both of you too much.”

There wasn’t anything left to say. She just wanted to embrace the both of them forever, but the sound of chaos being wrought above painfully reminded her of the urgency of the situation. Time was wasting. She was needed elsewhere.

So she let them go, and made her way to the Elevator.

“You be good now….”

She disappeared from their sight.

Frisk’s hopes began to wane. Only so many things could convince Toriel to leave them at this point. The lights flickered a little more frequently as time passed. The shaking wrought by hundreds and hundreds of hooves and claws had intensified enough to shake an empty bottle from atop one of the sinks. There was such an oppressive air of fear and dread, it surprised Frisk that Asriel had the wherewithal to speak.

“F-Frisk?”

“Hmm?”

His words were trapped in his throat and it took all his willpower to coax them out. “What exactly were you hoping to do?”

The child deliberated, The subject was delicate, and she needed to map out her words very carefully if she wanted Asriel’s cooperation.

“…. You and I can take them. “

“But how? Just look at what they did to you!”

“…”

“Frisk?”

It was getting harder and harder to look him in the eye. “I-I know what happened with you and Chara, and-“

“wha-?!”

“… a-and I think if we-“

“Frisk?!”

“We…”

__________________

_Another pair of the big jumping ones. You can take them. Lure that one with blaster fire, right into Madjick’s trap. Fell for it. Other one’s gunning for you. Twin blasters to face. He’s down. Send a bone through his neck. He’s out. Whole bunch of transformed humans, ones with shields this time. Knight-Knight’s got it, she’s got orbs behind them. Big one’s getting closer (is that fire spouting up near the Core?). Small jumpy ones coming for you. About seven of them. Block them with bones, keep them from separating. Guardsmen have them pinned. Keep moving. Keep getting attention._

_Keep on fighting._

_Don’t waver. Don’t Fear. Don’t quit._

_Big one’s getting really close. Tremors going up your spine. It’s like he’s right on you already. Don’t be scared. You can do this. Big red ones. Two of them, thundering towards you. Other monsters’ attacks aren’t fazing them. Doesn’t matter. Bone wall to slow them down. Blasters to keep them down. Keep them pinned. Got them on their knees. Send bone through both heads. Done. Can hear chains jangling. Stomping getting closer. None have passed so far. Almost winning…._

“HOLD YOUR GROUND, EVERYONE!” The Skeleton heaved a club at an attacking imp’s head. “WE HAVE THEM WHERE WE WANT THEM!”

“PAPYRUS, LOOK OUT!”

A barrage of rockets pummeled into a bony wall, summoned nearly on instinct. Three rockets hit it before it was burst asunder, giving Papyrus a little over half a second to react and flee. Rockets followed his panicked retreat, and he could feel the shockwave of each detonation threatening to topple him over. Too big to be the lanky jetpack ones. He hadn’t noticed how far to the right he was veering.

**_BOOM_ **

Papyrus’ momentum landed him flat on his back on slick ice. Something huge nearly crushed him. He didn’t get a good look at it. He had only time to run before that foot, seemingly made out of both flesh and metal,  would come stomping down on him. It sent some sort of magic attack after him, giving itself away by its own bright yellow light. Several huge swathes of some sort of offensive magic flew under and around him, cutting down a patch of trees to the south. Six seconds, and none of it permitted him see his attacker.

Still, as he ran and found cover in what was left of Grillby’s (Barons had chased the guardsmen out, and in the process, had flattened its west side into rubble), he got a fleeting glimpse of his foe.

It was at least three stories tall. On its stumpy head he could see one broken horn on its left and what looked like some sort of stone and flesh mask on the right, underlaid by bloody and pulped flesh. A light was glowing from the right side of its chest. Its left arm did not match the right: it was orange and metallic, and as it lined up another volley, papyrus could see five lights where a hand should be,

Then more rockets.

Duck.

_More behind you. Jumpers and former humans Starting to get tired…_

**_Kaboom_ **

_Well, that took care of them. Look back. That was the big guy’s doing. Don’t know how I’m gonna take him down…_

_Maybe I don’t have to yet._

_He’s got you on a bead. Perfect. Run towards the others. Three humans with guns, another jetpack flyer and three pigs. Dodge their fire. Run past them. Hear explosions. Look back. All giblets. So far so good. More in the air. Big floaty ones spitting purple stuff. Summon blaster. Ride it. Go straight for them. Shuck and jive. Take a few shots as you go. Rocket’s fizzing behind you. Can hear them making impact on some of them. Missed a few, but you can take care of those. Bright flashes. Bright than usual. Something firing from his back…. Okay that’s a lot of rockets. All headed for you. Gotta look for more them. Three big fat ones attacking Knight-Knight and Madjick. Let’s change that. Swoop down. Rockets closing in. Fly past fat guys. Holy moly, they stink. Here come the rockets. These ones sound gooey for some reason. Look back… okay that’s gross._

_Chains are jangling. Handlers aren’t too happy. What are they? Those big shoulders, stumpy legs and no head. They look like they’re made of rock or something and they move all jolty-_

And then the green lights on their carapaces spun out of control in streaks. The entire world was tumbling around him. Something had shot his blaster out from under him, and he came crashing into the ground, rolling several times over in the snow.

_Everything hurts. Vision blurry. Hearing muffled. Someone calling out. One of the guardsmen, maybe. Hear screeching. Getting closer. One of the jetpack flyers. Gotta get up_

He was on his knees when the revenant kicked him back to the ground. It loomed over him, grabbed him by the throat and screamed in his face, holding back a fist ready to smash his skull in.

_Wait. That thing Undyne taught you._

_Hand on back of head, one under chin._

_Twist_

**Snap.**

The revenant fell limp atop the skeleton, dead. He shuffled its carcass off himself, his senses still aching and his legs still weak. His right leg felt shattered, and he felt light headed. Determination alone kept him afloat, kept him in the fight.

The behemoth began to grasp at its own chains, and in seconds, it had hurled its handlers into the ground before it, trampling them underfoot in guttural, mindless anger and frustration. It tore the collar from its neck, revealing sore and reddened flesh.  Two beady, yellow eyes on the intact side of its head glared at Papyrus with feral rage, and with a low, gurgling growl, it took aim at him once more.

_Not done yet. Gotta keep running. Don’t trip over. Don’t lose balance. How am I gonna beat this thing? More pigs charging you. Keep moving, just like before. Keep dodging. Keep firing. Keep swinging._

_Wait…_

_The lights by New Home. They’ve stopped…._

_______________

Lights all across the core were shutting off. Imps and lesser demons gnawed at the power cables, and Hell Knights tore breaker and junction boxes apart. Power was failing throughout the Core, and the MTT resort, already in flames, was now devoid of power.

And now, the overlord system was too.

“No… NO!!”

“What?!”

The lights were beginning to flicker again

“SANS, ACTIVATE EMERGENCY POWER! USE MY COMPUTER!”

“Why what’ happening?!”

“They’re destroying the core! We’ve lost power to the Overlord System and we’re gonna lose power here! The Hydraulics keeping the blast doors shut are gonna fail, and-“

“Son of a-“

Mettaton shoved him away. “Sans, just go! I can finish repairs myself!”

“Already on it!” His fingers rushed across the keyboard. Panic began to grip everyone in the compound.

 

Terrified sobbing choked every other syllable the prince spoke. “Frisk no! I-I can’t do it!”

“We have to!”

“I ca- I can’t!

Suddenly, every light in the lower compound went out with a horrible _bang._ Both children screamed, and their hastened breathing echoed in the dark corridors and empty rooms of the True Lab.

“F-Frisk…?

“Asriel…”

Another _bang_ , and the lights came back on. Some sort of loud droning could be heard from the further reaches of the complex.

“What? What was-“

“I-I dunno. I… I think it’s the power. The demons must be destroying the Core….”

“Frisk, I-“

 

“Holy crap, that was close…” Sans slouched against the computer desk, his breath heaving in and out. “Where’s Toriel?! Man, we should have told her to stick to the core…”

Alphys had gone completely despondent, her head buried in her palms in front of a hundred “connection failed” screens, but Mettaton was quick on the uptake. “She’s still got her bracer on. Use the Module to get in touch…”

As the skeleton hustled into the seat at the console, Alphys managed to eke a few words out of herself. “Wh-what’s it look like on the shore party’s end?”

“…”

“Sans?”

“It… it doesn’t look good.”

__________________

A host of millions now closed in on the Hell Walker and his doomed accompaniment.

Don’t let them take you, old man. Don’t let them get close. More boars, two from the front and three from your right. Firewall. Let them run into it. They’ve hit it. Writhing on the ground. Big jumping ones with no eyes. Can barely walk. Can’t dodge them. Have to fight. One’s airborne. Catch him on your trident. Fling him off. Other one swinging. Duck. Shoulder hurts. Can’t get back up. He’s got you by the throat. Breath fire in his face. He’s down. Something sharp in your leg. Pain is excruciating. One of those small ones biting you. Trident through his head. So much killing intent in these things. Fat ones shooting from afar. Send fireballs their way. Can’t keep this up…

_Power at 33%. Dorsal batteries depleted. Arm Diode at 42% power. Taking damage: hell energy shot from nearby imp. Dispatch with shot to head. At least fifty more within seventy square yard vicinity. Horde imps mostly. Sequential Targeting in effect. 35 Targets locked. 47. 58. Firing. One down. Ten. Twenty-two. Arm Diode at 38% power. Why isn’t he attacking us himself. He’s just standing there… re-establishing link with Praetor Suit: Ammunition count: Plasma; 28%; Brass Cartridge (.50 UAC and 15mm UAC): 13% and 3% respectively. 40mm Rockets: 42% and declining. 12G shells: depleted.  Running out of time. Need to stop Hayden. Need to destroy Time crux. No immediate solutions available_

**Keep ‘em coming. Can’t stop me. Catch imp’s arm. Tear it off and smack him with it. Rip the other one’s jaw off. You kill me, and I’ll just be back. I’ll never stop killing you. I’ll never stop making you pay. Baron stepping on Asgore. He’s screaming. Oh no. No, you don’t. Get off him. Ding under ribcage, rip it open, claw his lung, let him choke to death. Hell razers shooting at VEGA. His armor’s coming apart. Run at them. Jump over him. Rip their arms off. Punch their skulls in. Don’t you touch them. Don’t any of you dare to touch them. Cacodemons shooting at you. No. Shooting at Asgore. You leave him alone. You leave both of them alone. I’ll kill you all.**

Doom Slayer’s getting rid of the flyers. Good. Can’t do much about them. Can’t do much more at all. Throw trident at the horned one. Missed. He’s gunning for you. Doom Slayer has him. Has his horn. Shoves it through his chest.  Can barely stand. Can’t move my arm without wanting to scream.

_Critical damage sustained. Chassis integrity compromised. Power lines to lower extremities and Flight Modules damaged. Flight capabilities incapacitated. Attempting self-repairs. Power at 29% Summoners attacking. Damage sustained. Demonic reinforcements inbound. Cannot hold out._

**More attacking VEGA. Snap that one’s neck. Pull out Rocket launcher. Lock on. He’s done.  Another Pinky Charging Asgore. He’s on his knees. Leave them alone… You take them from me, you die. You all Die. Hayden… Kill you… Kill you and your little pets. Kill you over and over if I have to.**

**____________**

“Toriel, it’s okay, you didn’t-“

“No Sans! I should have been there!”

“It’s not your fault we didn’t tell you.”

“I just-“

“Where are you right now?”

“I’m at the Hotel. I’ve tried keeping them away from the defenses, but-“

“It’s okay, there’s nothing we can do about that now. Just calm down. Papyrus might need your help at Snowdin. You’re gonna want to get there as soon as possible. They’re skipping our defenses everywhere else. They want to get to the surface!”

“Please tell me Asgore is alright!”

“Your highness, I-I don’t think I can-“

“SANS!”

Sans couldn’t bear to tell the grim truth, at least not all of it. “He’s… he’s not in good shape, but Doomguy and VEGA will take care of him.”

“Send me to him now! I must heal him!”

He could hear Alphys beginning to cry. “NO! You’re needed at Snowdin! They’re concentrating there!”

“But I-!”

“Just go! Doomguy can take care of things on their end, just go1”

She hung up without a word.

_Line 1 closed_

_Line 2 closed_

_Line 3 closed_

Sans squinted at the screen. “Wait... ”

________________

Asriel set down the bracer as the display on screen went inactive.

“D-Dad…”

He felt Frisk’s hand gently rubbing his shoulder, almost exactly like before. “We can do this…”

“W-why don’t you just reset? We can start over, Doomguy can zap me again and we-“

“I can’t! Doomguy has more determination than me, and we never told him about resetting!”

______________

Toriel’s flames evaporated the water around her in an instant as she rode a stream of arcane fire through Waterfall. She could see the flashes coming from demonic magic, the dark outline of a massive beast in their midst, firing rockets wantonly, razing the town into the ground.

“Hold on, Gorey…” she thought to herself. “I’m coming for you. I’ll be there for you, just wait… just hold on a little longer…”

 

_Keep running, Papyrus. It’s still working. It’s starting to get madder. Goodness, that roar…. Can’t hear anything after it roars. Have to feel for them. Something rumbling behind you. Another pig. Jump over it, send it into a bone wall behind you. Blast it from behind. They’re weak there. More laser demons a ways off. Fire on the horizon. Getting closer. What now?_

______________

He shot up, and his hands grasped Frisk firmly by the shoulders. “I DON’T WANNA HURT YOU AGAIN!”

“…”

“…Please. I’ve already seen you hurt before, and it was bad enough when it was me doing it. I know I wasn’t all there and I know I wasn’t-“

“Asirel, it’s okay-“

“And, and I kn-know you’ve already forgiven me, but just the thought of you-“

“I understand.”

“And when Chara and I did it….”

He felt her hands gripping him back, almost as strongly as her eyes were gripping his. “I’d never do that to you…”

___________

“Alphys... Alphys, it’s gonna be okay.”

“N-no it’s not…”

Mettaton shuffled himself back up. Barely operational, but he couldn’t let this despair overtake him as well. “Alphys, I’m charged to 40% and my hydraulics are mostly repaired. I can go out there and help.”

“What difference will it make?”

“I can-“

“You’ll die out there.”

___________

“…but you know we have to do this.”

Asriel was running to a million doors in his head that lead to nowhere. Frisk was right. It was now or never.

“Okay….”

Frisk hugged him as tight as she could, just like before. Her little mind could only grasp so much of what the boy had gone through, but she understood enough. She understood how big of a step this had to have been, and for that kind of bravery, she couldn’t be more grateful.

“But how are we going to do it? How can we do this without hurting you?”

___________

Imp fireballs and mancubus pus flew at the skeleton and the queen from all directions. Rockets hounded their heels and fueled their pace.

“Keep running, your majesty!”

“I passed legions of them on my way here. We cannot focus on this one for much longer!”

“We can use him to get rid of them too! Trust me, he doesn’t seem very bri-“

The beast slammed a fist into the ground, and with some form of Hellish magic, shot two walls of burning stone before him, entrapping the two boss monsters in a narrow corridor that ran from his personage to the end of the cavern wall.

His eyes narrowed, and the saliva on his teeth glinted in the orange light of hellfire

“Oh no…”

“Papyrus…”

He took aim at them.

___________

“I think…. I think I know a way, but we’ll have to talk to Dr. Alphys about it.”

The prince gulped and prepared himself for what was about to happen. “Okay… call her then.”

___________

Can’t fight any more. Can’t hold on any longer. More lightning. Must be more of them. Tori… forgive me….

_Too damaged. Will die in moments. Can feel more tethered activity behind me. It’s over… wait, that’s not…._

**You never learn. You never learn what happens when you take from me. You may kill us here, but you will NEVER… hold on… Something’s up.**

 

Something low and loud tore through the air from behind them, off to the other edge of the valley, and it was not one, but many voices. It mingled with endless thunderclaps in a loud, low, heart stopping ensemble.

 

Those horns… where are they coming from? The demons look afraid now.

_Tethered activity not matching known demonic profiles. Some sort of call. Acoustic profile unknown_

**Son of a bitch. I know those horns anywhere.**

___________

Sans’ heart was shattering. Alphys was hunched over the keyboard, full-on crying in defeated terror. Mettaton was trying – and failing – to comfort her, telling her things that all three knew were untrue. _Doomguy can do this. Asgore and VEGA will make it. We’ll keep them from breaking through._ All lies. All hopeless and untrue and unreal. It couldn’t; end like this. Not when they were so close to a solution. The way to end all resets was right there, on the tether probe screen, swirling in scarlet streams around the new Icon, and yet no one could reach it. The thing that could give life meaning again, that could make him care, that could stop the invasion, was just hanging there like bait.

He had to say something. Anything that could help lift the unbearable weight, even if it was a flat out lie.

“Alphys, we can still-“

“We can’t do anything…”

Then, her phone rang.

She would never know what possessed her to pick it up against the despair that would have held her hand down, but she picked it up anyway. It was Frisk.

“F-Frisk?! What wrong?!” As if everything wasn’t already wrong.

“Alphys! Me and Asriel are gonna fuse souls! We need you to help us!”

For a moment, it was as if the demons themselves had heard her, and they too fell silent. The whole compound felt quiet as she spoke those words.

“You’re… you’re going to what?”


	30. Unto the Evil

The heat from each passing rocket was almost enough to singe the furs on Toriel’s head as she dodged each incoming missile. The beast snarled in terrible rancor with each missed shot, and his impatience bid him use his magic. The projectiles stopped, and raw hell energy coursed through his arm and through the air in wave upon wave of infernal power.

The queen noticed her companion trying to break down the stone walls entrapping them. “PAPYRUS, DUCK!”

It was more of a controlled fall than a duck, but a second of difference would have seen him bisected.

Streaks of orange polluted their vision. The sounds of the underground being ravaged polluted their hearing.

His scathing attacks subsided, and the mammoth monstrosity’s shadow loomed over them.

______________

“Alphys, you heard us!”

“I can’t!”

Some great explosion coming from the south rocked the compound. Lights faltered, and most loose articles on Alphys’ desk were sent to the floor.

“You have to!”

Hope and despair vied desperately for control within the young scientist. “B-but how? We’ve never done anything like this before!”

“You’re the only one who would know! We can’t do this without you!”

______________

All the hosts of Hell heard the din on the other side of the Citadel. Once more, collective memory sprang to squirming life in the head of every hellspawn who heard it. That low, reverberating sound that stopped hearts, shook stone, and tore the air, the sound of war, a herald of countless battles on which they were found on the losing side. It could not be. Argent had been sacked. The Wraiths’ power had been taken. They were sealed with those false gods ages ago….

But lo, those horns rang out their lay.

Their fears were sparking to life. The Doom Slayer’s actions had broken their seal. Demon after demon faltered and began to flee at the sound

 

_I’d like to know why our forces are running awa-_

**THOU FOOL. YOU WILL BE THE DEATH OF US ALL!**

_I’m getting sick of your whining…_

**AND I TIRE OF YOUR OVERCONFIDENCE. YOUR TOYING HAS COST US TIME, AND NOW _THEY_ HAVE COME UPON US…**

_Who?_

_____________

Panic gripped Frisk’s shaking heart with every second of silence from the young Doctor. “Alphys please! We can’t do this without you!”

Neither Sans nor Mettaton spoke a word for fear of speaking over Alphys. She just sat there, fists clenched atop the keyboard, eyes teary and shut. That little voice kept calling out from the phone in front of her nose, but she still would not answer.

“ALPHYS!”

“….”

That would have been the last she would have called that name, if she didn’t hear the shrill whine of actuators forcing open two tons of steel in the elevator shaft.

As if by some miracle, all trepidation had evaporated from Alphys speech. “You two stay put… I’m coming down,”

 

“Alphys, do you even know how to-?”

Mettaton’s protest failed to stop her march to the elevator. “Shut the blast doors behind me and don’t open them again until I say so. Sans?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s it look like on the other end?”

He was ready as anyone could be to report their deaths. He couldn’t be more pleasantly surprised by what he saw. “The… the demons are backing off!”

“Alright… Mettaton, what’s your charge at?”

“I’m at 47%.”

“If you hit 60% and I’m not back out by then, you go out there and relieve Snowdin, understand?”

“… understood.”

“Good… “

The elevator doors opened, hiccupping as another quake rocked the compound.

She walked in, and without a word, the doors closed behind her

_____________

The brimstone walls came down, but the old Baalgar had not yet finished. Two little fleeing insects just refused to die.

“Toriel, just run!”

"Run where?!”

“Just find another pack of demons! He’ll make short work of-“

The shrieking of rocket engines filled their ears to near bursting as the demon rushed forth, its assisted charge plowing through the snow in titanic, billowing swathes. Pivoting on its flesh heel, it raised its steel foot before its quarry.

“AAUUGH!”

The Queen slid as she tried to stop herself. Papyrus’ arm caught her and pulled her back before the beast’s iron foot could crush her to pulp. Both their inertia and the creature’s stamping sent then on their backs. No time to think, just run. More wailing from beyond Waterfall. More on the way. More already here. Big ones. Fat, burning everything to the ground.

That metal beast, that _Cyberdemon_ , was still pursuing them. They could feel points of concentrated light burning on their backs.

Papyrus shot a glance at his attacker, its arm once more raised.

**_DEE-DEET_ **

“SPLIT UP!”

The heat nearly fried them, even as they careened one away from the other, the split-second beam missing them by an arm’s length.

______________

A soul capsule lay in the receptacle opposite the extractor matrix.

The empty space beneath the old machine had been filled with plain, steel plate floor, raised just for the occasion, with a medical table and accompanying apparatuses in tow. Frisk lay on it, sweating, swallowing her spit….

… holding Asriel’s hand.

The Extractor Head hovered over her chest, its many pipes and tubes hissing out steam, it’s empty eyes looking down on her.

Asriel turned to Alphys, unable until now to find the right words.

“Do you know if it’s gonna work?”

The scientist entered the last commands into a console just to the left of the bed. The machine came to loud, shrieking life.

“No… but it has to.”

_____________

That lightning isn’t stopping. The Icon is reeling. It’s afraid. I hear something. The demons are backing away. Something behind us… Tori… is that you?

_Argent energy spike detected. It’s not Hayden. He doesn’t look too pleased. Detecting irregular fibrillation in multiple demons. Doom Marine is smiling. What’s he looking back a- well now…_

**And I thought the good ‘ol days were over…**

_____________

Frisk reached over and stroked the fur on the back of her friend’s head.

“I know we can do this.”

“I… I know we can too.”

The Machine lowered itself over Frisk. The tubes injected in her right arm began to fill with clear fluid.

The young Doctor left the console to be at her side. “The sedative works on magic… it’ll keep you asleep until you get back.”

Drowsiness was beginning to cloud the girl’s eyes. “Asriel…”

“Frisk?”

“Are you ready?”

Courage swelled in the Prince’s bosom “I think so.”

The world was going dark. The prince was fading out of her vision. “Don’t be scared…”

“I-I…”

_“You can do this.”_

____________

The shadows of yet unburnt trees danced across the chasm ceiling as an inferno engulfed the forest around Snowdin. The silhouettes of fleeing monsters, outnumbered and overrun, danced with them. Every now and then, a bright flash would overpower those shadows as arcane fire shot forth from Toriel’s hands. Her ambers and whites joined a chorus of bright blue with every blaster shot and barrage of bones Papyrus meted out. The two were continuously surrounded, desperately trying to open a hole where they could flee and further bait the Cyberdemon, but they could hold them back no more than water between their fingers

Knight-Knight and her accompaniment were on the run from charging pinkies and bellowing Hell Cacodemons. Shots missed, and were intercepted by magical barriers, but it could only do so much for so long.

Summoners reinforced their line as it advanced, adding more imps and Hell Razers into the fray by the second. The Baalgar demon gloated, its ear-splitting roar carrying trails of viscous drool from the edges of its teeth. It had caught onto their game, and as it approached, they knew there was nowhere left to run.

Nowhere to hide

Nowhere to go.

The hulking creature lined itself up for another shot.

____________

A pale luminescence peeked over the broken remains of the citadel and the earthen crest on which they lay. The horde’s aggressive roaring bore less of their confident menace, giving way more to hopeful bluff, a feigned display of what was now a vanishing superiority.

There was no tremor, no herald of their coming, but over those ledges and piles of rubble, their ranks appeared in rapid succession, each spectral, armored profile materializing in streaks of verdant green. The edges of their swords gleamed against each flash of lightning soaring through the whirlwind. On and on, more of their kin appeared onto the battlefield, their army stretching out in a host that covered the former Citadel’s grounds all the way to the molten moat.

A single voice silenced the demons; them and every other utterance Hell dared emit. It was boisterous, but barely a yell. Confident, but not braggartly.

“Looks like you guys could use some help!”

 

Why yes, we can, Undyne.

____________

A thousand situations played out in Papyrus’ head. Dodge to the left, and the horned ones will maul you. Dodge to the right and the fat ones will roast you alive. Stay here, and the big one will fry you. Knight-Knight and Madjick are nowhere to be seen, nor any of the other guards. No solutions to the predicament at hand.

It was all a matter of seconds, yet the old demon held his fire. He wanted the savor their dread.

Toriel’s concealed the fear in her heart with boorish anger. “Well come on then! Do it if you’ve the courage! DO IT!” Perhaps she was hoping her firewalls could provide an escape or perhaps even a blockade. Perhaps she though her bravado would intimidate them. Neither could have worked.

The Cyberdemon replied not with reluctance or fear, but with amusement as its horrible maw curved into a sickening smile. Diodes sent beams trailing onto the two monsters, training a final shot at them.

There was a bright flash.

They closed their eyes.

They realized they hadn’t died when they heard the demons screeching in surprise and shock.

And what met those eyes when they opened? Scattering hosts of hell spawn, bare earth where the snow had been evaporated, and half a hulking, cybernetic demon wobbling a little before it came toppling onto the ground before them. Its entire left side burned to ash.

And then they saw _him_.

A robe, purple and going to his ankles like his mother’s flowed behind him. He wore pauldrons like his father’s upon his shoulders, complimenting the horns on his head. In his hands was some sort of weapon, emitting what looked like stars that burned through the shadow dwellers’ bodies. It disappeared and gave way to blinding flashes of lightning, incandescent, constant, dancing all over what remained of Snowdin. Legions of the horde, swarming, and at this point fleeing, ash in the blink of an eye.

He looked at his Mother and Papyrus for a second or two, deliberating before approaching them. His fur was lush white, with streaks of black pointing to his bright, lively eyes.

“Mom!”

His voice was different; deeper, but still perky and energetic. She knew it all the same.

“Asriel?!”

“Get back to the lab as soon as you can, get tethered and go help Dad. Papyrus, you grab some ammo for Doomguy. I’ll clear out what’s left of them in the underground.”

Snowdin had been cleared, but the horde could be heard in the farther reaches of the chasm. “That’s my cue… you guys get to the lab, quick!”

Toriel wanted to ask so many questions, but Papyrus had already begun racing for Hotland, taking her Majesty by the hand and nearly dragging her through the snow.

 

S-she’s totally gonna ground me into next year when this is done…

_I think she’ll give us a pass, Asriel._

You sure?

_Course I’m sure! Quick get those guys down in waterfall. Mom and Papyrus can’t take them by themselves!_

Got it!

 

Send lightning down, take those guys out. Big fat ones shooting at Mom. Use star blazing on them. They’re toast. Little ones crawling all over the place. Fire magic. Make sure not to hit Mom or Papyrus. Funnel it through the whole maze. That should be most of them for that area. Laser just missed you. What was that?

_Over to your right!_

Got it. Three of them. Hit them with chaos buster. Got them. Big horned ones homing in on us. Throwing fire. Save last shot for them. Hit them. Gone. Keep flying. Swoop down. Pig looking ones surrounding those other monsters. Swords out. Cut them in half. Got them. Flying ones in the way. Cut them apart. More coming from Hotland. Bigger ones with horns again. Papyrus has them. The eyeless ones gunning for mom. Can’t let them get her. Shocker breaker incoming…

 

Toriel’s heart pounded as lightning baked the Hell Knights before her to a crisp. Her son swooped over her before disappearing out of sight again, flying off to Hotland. Nearly every demon in sight had been turned to ash, and as Papyrus finished off the last Baron with a blaster to its throat he turned, made eye contact with her, and nodded. Time to go. Hotland would be clear by the time they got out of Waterfall. Leaping, bounding or charred demons and glowing creeks, they hurried on to the lab.

 

Okay, there’s not so many of them here. Just a few of the small ones clambering all over the-WOAH!

_Look out for those fireballs!_

I got ‘em. Chaos Buster. Fire everywhere. Should clean these guys up. More laser guys by the puzzles. Give them a taste of their own medicine. Man, they’re everywhere. Jumpers, medium sized ones. Same ones that were going after mom. Feed them stars. Fat ones and thin, floating ones summoning more of the small guys. Give them fire. They’re done. Frisk, what’s next?

_The Core and New Home. Let’s go!_

Right!

_______________

Undyne had no words in reserve for Hayden’s new form. Just a steel stare of contemp. Neither her nor her titanic opponent and his cowering, cursed constituency had anything to say. No speeches from one, nor arrogant candor from the other. The prowling beast on which she was mounted, four footed, lean legged, armored, and snarling through rows of knife-like teeth, tore the ground beneath it, as did the other beasts carrying their equally eager cavalrymen.

The Doom Slayer and his accompaniment looked on in awe as ranks of Argent cavalry surrounded the crater. He smiled agape, letting out a wheezing laugh.

 

Hot damn, they gave her a warbeast….

Good job, boys.

 

_“CHAAAARGE!”_

A chorus not heard in Hell since the Fall of Argent rang through the ears of the shadow dwellers. A fear, long dormant, reawakened in them as they felt the stampede of their cavalry draw near, and the steely shouts of the cavalrymen. They felt their Icon shouting at them through their hive connection, threatening death should they flee, but every demon knew, as those pikes pointed at them, as the teeth of their warbeasts bared, and as the gravel under their feet began to shake that they were dead already.

The Doom Slayer turned back to face his enemy, wearing that familiar, bloodthirsty smile as his company of old ran forth, mere seconds behind him.

 

**THE FRUITS OF YOUR FOLLY HAVE COME TO END US! THE WRAITHS ARE FREE BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS!**

_They’re long dead. The Praetorian siphoning their energy won’t-_

**HE HAS FREED THEM FROM THE WELL, AND THEIR SOULS REGAIN THEIR STRENGTH! IT IS ENOUGH TO FREE THE SENTINELS AND GIVE THEM POWER OVER US!**

_Great…._

**JUST KILL THEM!**

The Icon cried out in petulant rage, and to its six hands was drawn the lightning in the maelstrom above it, gathering power until it unleashed it upon the Night Sentinels to absolutely no effect. The scarlet bolts were impotent against their spectral forms. The demons braced themselves – some for combat with their old foe, others for impending oblivion. The Hell Walker charged forth as his men were near behind him, his voice once more shaking the earth in a raging, barbaric, ebullient cry that radiated gloriously with the yawps of the Night Sentinels.

“ASGORE!”

It felt so good to hear her voice again. “Undyne!”

He knew it was going to hurt, but the pain in his ribs and pelvis nearly knocked him unconscious as the Captain grabbed him by his free hand and threw him onto the saddle, knocking the breath out of him

“OOF-!”

“You alright, old man?”

“I-*huff*- I’ve got my trident…”

Three seconds, and they would be upon the enemy.

“ _… And that is enough for now!!”_

_“NGAAAAHHHHH!!!”_

Both sank their arms into the flesh of the enemy as they charged through their line. Them, and the other three thousand Argent Cavalry charging into the horde with them. The sound of bone crushed under trampling feet, hellspawn shrieking, spears lodging into flesh, and teeth ripping small fodder asunder choked the air. Men shouted, demons wailed, and warbeasts roared. The sound of war, of demons dying and spears shaking, was heard once more in the depths of Hell.

The Doom Slayer stood and looked all around him as his men charged all around and through him, meeting their passing salutes with his own. VEGA was paralyzed by the sight, stirring only when he heard the Marine whistle. He turned to his left and saw one of the last riders, halting and beckoning he join him on the saddle. The AI didn’t hesitate. He leapt up and joined the rider, firing wildly into the horde wit what was left of his energy, as the Doom Slayer joined the infantry in their charge, to sweep up what was left after the warbeasts had taken their fill.

He had not much but his own two fists now. Not that it mattered. At this point, they were all he really needed, and he really cared to use.

 

You see all this, Hayden?

Doom is coming.

__________

“Alphys, I’m at 60%!”

“Okay, get ready to head out to Snowdin then. Sans, we-“ She looked over to see the Skeleton smiling with glee, gripping the sides of his head. “Sans? Sans, what’s going on in there?”

“What, you guys aren’t looking?!”

“You haven’t told us anythi-“ Her and Mettaton both had questions, but they were answered before they had a chance to leave their mouths

On that screen, they could see thousands of green, ghostly warriors surrounding the New Icon. Their friends were hard to make out in the maelstrom, but vitals were steady, if somewhat drained. The sight was breathtaking: watching the hordes of Hell flee before the Sentinels, trampled underfoot of their mounts, the Icon reeling, swiping powerlessly at them, unable to inflict corporeal harm, all of it was the most violently beautiful thing any of them had ever seen.

Alphys’ phone rung several times before she could pry herself away. It was Toriel. “Hello?”

“Let us in. We’ve got to get supplies for the shore party.”

____________

Watching his Mother and her escort safely make it inside the lab filled Asriel with an odd sense of pride. His mother was safe. His actions had saved her and Papyrus. Pretty good for your average crybaby. Still, some part of him was disturbed at what he had done. It reminded him almost of his time as a Flower, even though the recipients of his actions were far more deserving this time around. Frisk could sense it.

 

_Asriel. Don’t be afraid…_

I… I’m just a little reminded of-

_I know, but you and I both know that’s not what’s happening now. Then? In the past? That wasn’t you._

But it-

_Not the real you._

I know…

_Now come on. Let’s do this. For Toriel. For Asgore…._

Okay.

_For everybody_

Frisk… I’m ready

_… Let’s go save the world._


	31. Thy Flesh Consumed

“Mettaton, you’ve got all the stuff?”

His jets ignited a few times, testing the weight of the crate he clung to. “I’ve got all I can carry, if it counts for anything, darling.”

“Okay. Papyrus, you uh… you sure you want to use that thing?

All eyes turned to the corner of the room, some in disgust at the demon corpse laying next to the Skeleton. “Of course, I do! I wouldn’t have you go through all the trouble of rigging it up for me were it otherwise!”

“… Just consider yourself lucky I was able to rewire the controls on that thing. Everybody ready to tether out?”

“Alphys, wait…”

There was sternness mingled with tenderness in the queen’s voice, and it earned Alphys’ attention immediately. “yes?”

“Is Frisk all right? I saw Asriel out there and he-“

Somewhere in the back of the Scientist’s mind, that old fear of failure, of looking terrible in front of others, tried to resurface. She didn’t give it a second of audience. “Frisk is fine. She’s asleep downstairs, I put her on a special sedative.”

“Okay but Alphys… you realize something like this has happened before, and when it did-“

“That’s not what’s happening now, and it will never happen again.”

Toriel finally relinquished her fears. “…okay.”

The command prompt on the Tether module read out in bold, flashing letters

**COORDINATES RECEIVED**

**TETHER SEQUENCE READY**

**EXECUTE?**

“Everyone ready?”

No audible replies. Just nodding. Toriel flickered flames in her palms. Mettaton grasped the handles on the crate. Sans’ eye flashed as he wrung his bracer. Papyrus twirled his clubs.

‘Alright then… here we go.”

Her finger hovered over the command.

______________

Asriel’s hands clenched and relaxed, strained from using his magic so profusely and so quickly. The demons in New Home stood little chance, but their sheer numbers were enough to wear the Prince down. They could see the Doom Slayer’s old portals, waning a little, and letting in no demon, but standing nonetheless.

 

Wow… that was a lot of them…

_I knew fusing would make you strong, but I thought it would be like when you-_

Well, I had six human souls and every soul in the underground, Frisk.

_Oh yeah._

Man, that’s a huge portal… how are we gonna take it out? There’s still some demons coming out of it

_I dunno. Try zapping it maybe?_

Are you sure that’ll work?

_It’s all we’ve got._

Okay then… here goes!

 

The Prince drew a deep breath.  Tingling spread form his core to his extremities, and in an instant, with a hand extended toward his target, he unleashed another volley of arcane lightning, incandescent, tearing through the air, mingling with and overpowering the hellish sparks emanating from the portal. Every and any demon still emerging therefrom was vaporized. The portal wasn’t diminishing by any visible margin, but somehow, both of them felt it. Something was giving way.

 

_I can feel something! Asriel, keep going!_

I-I can’t! It hurts!

_I know it hurts, just keep going! It’s working! Can’t you feel it?_

I can f-feel something…

_________

The Icon felt something stinging it. One of the nodes in the crux behind him was shocking it. Something was breaking

 

_What?! What is that? Where is it coming from?!_

**THE CRUX IS UNDER ATTACK!**

_What?! HOW?!_

The Icon looked down to its right. The Portal linking Hell to the underground was swathed in some bright, flashing light, unlike anything he had ever seen. Arcs that contrasted with the redness of his own lightning shot out, most, if not all of it reaching around and attacking the node by which the portal was powered.

 

_No… NO!_

**NOW WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!**

_I didn’t do anything! It’s just-!!_

With a bright flash that blinded half of hell, and a _bang_ that nearly sent the Icon to its knees, the portal collapsed shut

______________

The clouds in New Home waned into oblivion. The light coming from the Marine’s portals had faded with them. The red haze fell away, and the light from the crystals on the surface spilled unpolluted once more the light of the sun, dimmed now only by opacity. Smoke rose from shattered rooftops, and some flame sputtered around in the windows of burning buildings, letting smoke trail its way up to the cavern roof.

_Think we can fix that?_

I believe we can. Hold on.

 

There were only so many spells he had learned from childhood. All the rest, everything his fused form knew, simply came to him, or were simply imagined by him when he was young. Still, there was one his mother had taught him. Gentle, simple, easy to cast. The moment was clear in his memory: a little candle lit by Toriel’s magic, a deep breath, a little point of his finger, and the light was out. All while he imagined it, he acted it out, sweeping his hand from one side to another. With it, every flame was extinguished, and the smoke was cleared away.

New home, though devastated, and partially in ruins, was cleansed. Frisk and Asriel took a moment to soak it all in.

The sound of their bracer coming to life shook them awake. Alphys’ voice echoed in the emptiness of New Home.

“Hey, are you ready to tether out yet? Everyone else has already gone.”

“Yeah… yeah, we’re ready.”

“Okay. Tether sequence initiating in T-minus ten seconds.”

10, 9, 8…

“Is my mom there?”

“Yeah, she’s there. She’s okay.”

7, 6, 5…

“And my dad?”

“He’ll be alright. Your mom will take good care of him.”

3,2…

“You make them proud, Asriel. Okay?”

“… I will.”

1.

_______

The Icon lurched back and shrieked, higher, louder, and with more petulance than ever. All six of its hands were raised into the sky, and from behind it, the mountains came to violent and fiery life, spewing forth molten rock and ash. As they erupted, the Icon’s magic pulled the volcanic pyre forth, and it lurched back forward, sending fire and brimstone upon his enemies and allies alike. Each torrent of magma, each burning stone, the whole cloud of pyroclastic fury, rushed forth onto the battlefield

It changed nothing

Undyne and Asgore’s warbeast was nimble and quick, weaving between each falling volcanic missile with ease as her passengers dispatched what demons could be reached with the business ends of both spear and trident. VEGA’s charged shots sent the projectiles flying in pieces around him, scorching what demons were left standing in the wake of his companion Sentinel.

 

**THEIR SPECTRAL FORMS RESIST OUR BLOWS. THE WRAITHS’ POWER IS WAXING AND IS WITH THEM. OUR ATTACKS ARE FRUITLESS.**

_Then what do you suggest?!_

**DESTROY THE DOOM SLAYER. HIS DEFEAT WILL DISHEARTEN THEM**

_Forget that. I want him to feel this. I’m going after the others. Make him regret this…_

**YOU IDIOT!**

 

Whatever demons had not been routed by the dragoons’ charge were soon finished off by the infantry. Sword cleaved into flesh, and mace crushed bone. The Doom Slayer charged forth with his old comrades, on and on towards their final opponent, never breaking eye contact with it, even as imp arms were being torn from their sockets, or as his fists caved in the skulls of straggling Hell Knights. That changed when he saw the Icon look away, to his left. Confidence gave way to worry. What was he looking at? Vaulting over a Baron’s corpse, he glanced to where the Great one’s gaze had rested.

 

Undyne…

Asgore…

VEGA…

**NO!**

It wasted no more time with arcane frivolities. The claws of its lowest arm dug into the ground, carrying a great swathe of blood-soaked earth into the air with it as it trailed through several ranks of unlucky demons, hurtling towards the King and the Captain. The Doom Slayer ran their way, through his charging comrades, firing what rockets he had left from his launcher, but in his heart, he knew it was too little, too late.

“ASGORE, BRACE!”

“Oh no.”

“INCOMING HAZARD. NO EVASIVE MANUEVERS AVAILABLE.”

Though the warbeasts were unaffected, and phased through the rising earth, the trio were caught up in the swathe. Everything seemed to slow down in the Doom Slayer’s eyes as he watched his friends disappear into the earthen avalanche, sometimes reappearing in the rubble as the stone and dirt twisted them, tossed them in a storm of debris. The Beast’s claw rose out of the ground and took with it a sizeable curtain of dust and stone into the air, and it hissed in satisfied malice as it looked upon its apparent, easy victory.

Horror nearly stopped the Doom Slayer in his tracks. It didn’t get any better when he saw them emerge from the rubble, contrary to his expectations, and seeing them so badly injured, missing plates of armor, and in VEGA’s case, an arm, propelled him to them so much faster as the Icon loomed menacingly overhead.

Undyne could barely stand. Her armor was chafed and bent, and some pieces has gone missing in the earthen heap.

“A-Asgore…”

She reached out for him, crawling to him. He wasn’t dust, at least not yet, but the way, he clung to his shoulder, crying with his mouth agape but silent, told her he wasn’t far off. VEGA could only get so much off of himself with just one arm.

The Icon raised its heel against the trio, and in malicious candor, it gloated at the Hell Walker.

**_“YOU CANNOT SAVE THEM.”_ **

 

No.

Can’t lose them like this….

 

And he wouldn’t.

Before the beast’s clawed foot could come crashing down on his friends, some great beam hit it square in the chest, and it reeled back and clutched itself in pain, screaming, tumbling nearly on its back. The Sentinels retreated somewhat, circling around the shore party and keeping demons from advancing, leaving a clearing around the clawed heap. The Doom Slayer looked skyward for his friends’ savior, and when he saw him, continually, firing at the Icon and keeping it down, he could scarce peel his eyes away, that was, until he heard familiar voices calling out from behind the rear echelon of Sentinels.

“ASGORE!”

There was Toriel, running up to her spouse. Mettaton was close by, flying (with some strain) with a crate of supplies in his hand and going towards VEGA.

The Queen knelt by her husband, taking off crumpled pieces of armor and looking in horror at his sorry state. Dark bruises could be seen where his bones had been broken, and internal bleeding had run rampant. The imp’s bite still oozed blood from his ankle in deep toothmarks. Most ghastly were the breaks where bone could be seen rising under flesh on his lower ribs and his upper arm. The sight yanked tears from the queen’s eyes as soon as they were met with each injury.

“Oh Gorey, what have they _done_ to you?!”

He reached up to gently touch her face, and she cried all the more. “Tori… I-I’ll be alright…”

“Asgore, I-!”

“Now that you’re here, I’ll be aright…”

Healing magic flowed from her hands, and with painless care, she mended his wounds. A haze of some sort enveloped his shattered shoulder and torso, and each unsightly smart was done away with. They continued to look into each other’s eyes as the magic did its work, healing both of them all the same.

Undyne’s pained moaning did not fall on deaf ears. “Tori… Tori, go help Undyne, she’s badly hurt. I should be fine.”

Somewhat hesitant to take her hands off, she complied with a nod and walked over to the wounded Captain. “Goodness dear! I was afraid we had lost all of you!”

As healing magic coursed through her body, The Captain’s first thoughts were not of herself, but of others. “VEGA… we need to help him too-“

“Mettaton’s already there, dear, he’ll take care of him.”

The AI was amazed at how fast and how quickly Mettaton could exchange his worn parts, though he was somewhat bemused by his mannerism.

“Tsk tsk tsk! I lend you this spare body of mine and look what’s become of it! Goodness darling, you look hardly presentable!”

VEGA rolled his eyes as a replacement cannon arm was hastily bolted back into place with the joint’s actuator. “Well, I wasn’t exactly hoping to entertain an audience, Mettaton.”

The Marine could hardly believe his eyes. They were alive. All of them. The others were here and helping. The Icon was on the defensive. The Sentinels were back and fighting. Everything was finally stating to look up. They were finally _winning_.

“Doomguy! DOOMGUY!”

The Slayer shook  his head, embarrassed somewhat as Mettaton touched down, straining somewhat as he carried the crate over to him. “Goodness, are you going to make me carry this cursed thing around all day? I’ve must have called you a dozen times!"

The old Scourge shrugged with a smile.

“ ** _Sigh_** , well, VEGA’s almost done with his self- repairs. The rest of this is for you, darling.”

He opened the crate, and what he saw was almost too beautiful to take in: ammunition. He reached forth, and his suit’s storage absorbed all the rockets, cartridges and plasma batteries in seconds. The crate still wasn’t empty. Something big and blunt and beautiful was lying at the bottom of the box.

“We noticed your chain was busted so I lent you one of mine, free of charge! MTT brand won’t let you down, darling.”

A chainsaw. The great communicator.

Some demons had made it past the sentinels, as several thousand could only hold back a certain portion of a few million. Noticing the Doom Slayer, they hesitated, but advanced on him and Mettaton nonetheless.

 

C’mere boys. I’ve got somethin’ to say.

 

There was only a pair of barons, three pinkies, and a smattering of imps and Hell Razers, all spread out across thirty yards or so and closing fast as they advanced past the gaps in the Sentinel Forces. Small time. Not enough to last two minutes, tops.

No matter. The Doom Slayer was going to enjoy this.

 

Baron first. Easy takedown. Chainsaw indie his knee. He’s down, screaming, Saw to open mouth, cut his skull from his jawbone. Dead. Other one gunning for you. Jump at his face. Let’s make this one hurt. Saw blade to skull. Jump down, let it drag itself straight through him. Hell Razers aiming for you. Charge at them. One’s trying to run. Pull out hinge shotgun, take out his ankle. Let him bleed. Chainsaw the other one. Trying to block with his arm. Arm’s gone. Head now too. Finish other one off. Run blade through back and out through skull. Couple of imps are running away. Mettaton’s got them. Three still brave. They’ll die afraid. Run up to one shooting at you, cut through his chest. Another flanking you. Pump shotgun, cripple him. Another charging you. Impale with saw. Throw him at the other one. Finish with boot to skull. Something behind me-

 

He knew the tremor. Another baron come to die. He swung to saw to meet its knee as he turned about, but its claw already had him on the ground, and it would have stomped him into the dust if a barrage of Rockets hadn’t pummeled into its back, blasting the spine from its torse, and felling it. The sound of rocket engines whining, powering down sounded close by, and a red-gloved hand reached down for the Doom Slayer’s hand, picking the Scourge back up. Familiar red scarf, familiar confident countenance, and… somewhat familiar mobility pack with Multiple Launch Rocket Batteries mounted to the shoulders.

“Get up, lazy bones! No time to nap!”

 

Papyrus, you _crazy_ son of a-

 

A Cacodemon approached from the air. The Doom Slayer would have fired on it with his gauss cannon if something blue hadn’t enveloped it and thrashed it against the stony rubble, grating the flesh from its bones.

“Pap, you really should have washed that thing before you decided to wear it...”

“Oh come on! You think I’d waste Dr. Alphys’ precious time?”

And of course, Sans was here too.

More demons got through the Sentinels' barricade, and soon enough the clearing had become one with the battlefield. The Doom Slayer fought, almost on instinct, as if running on automatic, as his mind was preoccupied. The screams of the Icon as that rescuer, still unidentified, attacked it with lightning and with comets and with sabers, the sight of the underground inhabitants come to fight, of seeing Undyne and Asgore and VEGA back in fighting condition, all of it brought something out deep from within him, something that had been waning until now, something that strengthened his blows, that lifted his mind with hope…

He was filled with determination.

So he sallied forth into the horde, not knowing at the moment how he would fell the Great One, but knowing that before the day was done, it would fall. Bounding from place to place, tearing demons asunder withersoever he went, he charged the embattled Icon. He would reclaim what was his. He would avenge what had been lost. He would save the underground and all who dwelt therein, and nothing, no demon, no false god, no arrogant man, would or could ever stop him. On he went as a fire through a dry forest, destroying all in his path as he leaped from demon to demon, The fire of his weapons burning and ripping and tearing continuously through the horde. His allies would flit into his vision as he went, Sans puling a Baron out of his way, VEGA incinerating a horde of imps to his left, spears jutting out and impaling knights and pinkies to his right while the Monarchs swept the way behind him in a swirling dance of great, blazing fire. The sentinels were spread about, and carrying out their last orders, as if it were the Glory days of Argent once more.

As he cut through the shadow dwellers, he looked up once more to see the battle between the icon and… just who was this? He looked similar to Toriel and Asgore, what with the white fur, the horns, the purple robe…

It couldn’t be.

A wail from the Icon, a shot of hell energy, and soon enough, he found out that it very well could be. The scarlet shot landed, not perfectly, but hard enough to knock the attacker out of the sky, sending him careening towards the Doom Slayer’s position as the Beast tried to recover from its downed position. He came to a skidding halt, upturning earth as he went. He was down, but certainly not out, as it took seconds for him to shake off the blow. His eyes met the halting Slayer’s, and his face immediately lit up.

“Hey! It’s you! I-I never got to say thank you…”

 

Holy crap, it really is him.

 

The Marine eyed him over, wearing a quizzical look, and pointing to all of the Prince’s new features. The gesture wasn’t lost on Asriel.

“What, this? Oh yeah, me and Frisk pulled this one off. Don’t worry she’s just fine.”

The Doom Slayer gave a quiet chortle and nodded his head. A cry from the recovering Icon, grabbed his attention and re-forged his scowl.

“I, uh… I think I might need help with this guy.”

The Slayer turned again, let his smile return, and pointed to the center of his chest, then to the Great One. Both his and Asriel’s eye went to that dark gem on the creature’s torso, ebbing with its ribbons of sanguine. Asriel turned once again, and saw the Hell Walker crouched and pointing to the Beast, waving him to his shoulders. He understood immediately.

“Okay then…. Clench up, big guy!”

Asriel went airborne, and in seconds, he was carrying the Doom Slayer through the air, screaming through the sky, approaching the monstrosity at speeds fast enough the cloud both of their eyes.

“ALRIGHT, I’M GONNA LET GO! YOU DO YOUR THING! THREE, TWO, O-“

Before the countdown could finish, the beast took a backhand swipe at them. The Doom Slayer had been hit harder, and had fallen from higher at faster speeds, but not Asriel. It took a second for him to get a visual on the Prince. He was unconscious.

 

_Wake up!_

_Asriel, wake up! PLEASE!_

_We can’t end it like this! You have to wake up! We’re gonna die! ASRIEL!!_

_Please…_

There was a sound piercing the whistling sound of the air sailing by them: a scream of some kind, like an engine…

“NOT SO FAST!”

Papyrus caught them from below, carrying both skyward, and back to the awaiting Icon. The impact shook Asriel awake.

“Done napping yet, Your highness?”

“Papyrus! How did you-?!”

“I swear, everyone’s sleeping on the job! Isn’t that right doomguy?”

The Icon roared once more, and Hell energy began to envelop its uppermost wrist.

“Asriel! You distract him so he doesn’t swipe doomguy off! Doomguy! When I toss you, you  ** _Finish_** this guy! Got it?!”

“Got it!”

The Slayer nodded.

 

**KILL THEM, YOU FOOL!**

_I’m about to kill them…_

 

“ASRIEL, GO!”

Papyrus tossed him into the air, and the Prince Flew off and continued his barrage, summoning his comets upon the Icon’s head.

 

_Damn that little… I’ll destroy him!_

**WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! FOCUS ON THE DOOM SLAYER!**

_He can’t do anything to us. This pest on the other hand…_

**NO… NO!**

And then, a voice one had never heard, and the other had not heard in a very long time.

 

My father will destroy you all.

_Wh-what?_

The Prince kept barraging the Icon with lightning and fire, The Guardsman’s rockets pummeled into the abomination’s face, and the Doom Slayer sailed through the air, aiming himself towards that jewel, drawn in by that familiar energy, that signature he knew from nothing else…

And he hit dead center.

The Slayer pummeled into the gem with all his ungodly might, his fists pounding into his target with steel-mangling force. He channeled all his rage, all his determination into each blow, and the air around his fists exploded with the force and speed of his arm. He could feel his knuckles nearly breaking under his gauntlets, and the force of every punch reverberating though his arm and throughout his body, but he would not stop. The Icon raised two arms to swipe him off before Asriel and Papyrus blew them both away, and the beast screamed all the louder as one more punch resounded in a sickening, deafening **_CRACK_**.

Undyne took immediate notice as she pulled a spear from a Summoner’s throat. “EVERYBODY FOCUS FIRE ON THAT THING! KEEP HIM FROM SWATTING DOOMGUY!”

First the Sentinel archers, then the cavalrymen throwing their spears, then the monsters and their magic, all concentrated their combined might onto the Icon while Argent’s infantry kept its servants at bay. Spears and arrows bones, bombs, beams, and swathes of fire all flew skyward into the failed Lord of the Fifth age. Every Sentinel who remained unoccupied, Mettaton, Toriel, Asgore, Sans, VEGA, and Undyne, all lent their aid to the Doom Slayer.

There was a fissure in the middle of the gem. The Slayer clawed at it, punched it more until it began to chip away. More and more, he dug into the heart of his enemy. First chips, then chunks, then great pieces nearly his own size, deeper and deeper, faster and faster. The creature cried out in agony, unable to fight back, unable to claw him out, unable to resist the endless barrage directed at it.

Then he saw them.

The Crucible and the Siphon.

He pulled with every remaining ounce of his strength. He felt the remainder of the gem cracking apart all around him, drowned out somewhat by the Icon’s screams, all the sweetest music to his ears. They were coming loose. Any second any they would once again be his.

The stone gave, and the force of his pulling sent the Scourge from out of the cavity, plummeting to the ground. As he fell, he heard what sounded like a multitude of tortured voices, all crying out in despair, Hayden’s voice Chief among them. The cries gave way to more cracking, and before the Doom Slayer hit the ground, the entity’s entire body began to fall apart. The arms, the horns, all falling off from glowing fissures, splitting all over the body, and straight down the middle of its face, and as the Slayer touched down, crouched on one knee with his Crucible and Siphon alight and pointed outward like wings, its entire body exploded and the pieces evaporated in midair, illusory as the control its owner once thought he had.

All looked up, and saw that owner plummeting limp from the sky.


	32. Last Goodbye

Alphys’ eyes went wide, taking in as much of the sight as they would permit her. The flash was near blinding, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away. The enemy had been defeated.

“Oh my gosh they did it…. YOU GUYS ACTUALLY DID IT!”

_____________

The falling world around him seemed to come to a standstill. The sound of his army disbanding, of the storm he had gathered dissipating, of the thunder of cavalry and men advancing ever further below him, all were muted at once. Memory flooded his consciousness, until it gave room for nothing else.

Perhaps it was the way Hell’s magic brought to the mind a perfect recollection of guilt. Maybe, for the first time in years, his own conscience was calling out to him. He was powerless to resist either way.

_____

“Olivia, think about what you’re doing. Do you have any idea what you’re about to bring upon yourself?”

“I’ve known all along, Samuel.”

An automated voice blared over the intercom. *WARNING. LAZARUS WAVE GENERATOR, UNVERIFIED ACCESS DETECTED*

“You’re about to kill thousands….”

“And become a GOD in the process.”

“They are the ones who set the terms. You know they’ll betray you in the end.”

“All I know is this, Samuel. When this is over, when the imperatrix and I are one, when the portal is opened, when we’ve swallowed all of mars and earth whole, I’ll make sure I have a special place made just for you to rot in.”

“You know what I’m going to have to do.”

“He can’t stop me. Neither of you can.”

The sound was muted by distance and weatherproof safety glass, but the light and shockwaves emanating from the Lazarus labs was unmistakable. The Cyborg looked on, not in surprise or shock, but in disappointment. His old pupil had turned against him. People were going to die. There was no question about that. In fact, there was no question as to how many would survive the event. The computations in Samuel’s head all pointed to estimates in the single digits, at the most generous.

There was only one thing left to do that could salvage the project now.

“Time to wake him up.”

______________

The pieces of the Icons body fell and sizzled away into dissipating vapor all around him. Digital distortions clouded his optics with blackened sections blocking out nearly half of all he saw with strobing flashes of reds and greens that occasionally pierced the dark. Past the blotches, he could see the tendrils of the crux. Still intact for the moment being. Maybe, if he stuck his landing just right, there could be hope. If he could summon what strength h had left, he could fight against the Doom Slayer and his allies.

His hopes were stillborn. His entire lower half had been severed.

Messages warning him too late about the lower thoracic damage flashed halfway between what was visible and what was distorted.

This was certainly the end.

________________

It was the first thing about Olivia that had shocked Hayden since the Lazarus team went silent.

“It can’t be… you were lying about a lot more than I thought, Olivia.”

The discrepancies between the official codex and Olivia’s were staggering. Several runes on the Helix, many of which she had personally shared with him, now further revealed the true depth of her deception. Half the translations were ruses. That was why the Helix had remained so cryptic; not because they couldn’t find its secrets, but because those secrets they had searched for had been hidden away. So many things they already knew and thought to be innocuous or unimportant now took on meanings of such magnitude, it could have changed the foundations of the program. Just enough was left untouched to tap into Hell’s pilfered Argent energy properly. Just enough to get away with and remain unsuspected. The thought made Hayden’s head burn.

Those insipid monsters and their new guard dog were going to have to wait. He hadn’t needed to mull something over like this in a long time. Betrayal had gone so much deeper than he had ever thought. Long before her sickly condition and the bionic suit made to remedy it, long before Lazarus was first established. She had hidden her plans from the very beginning. Her treachery was not implanted, but inborn. All the time they had been friends, from her spunky youth to her reclusive ageing, had been steeped in the Icon’s bidding. There had never truly been any friendship, any bond at all.

The very thought gave Samuel conniptions.

His student an Iscariot, his operation in shambles, and now his only hope to bring a little of it back would not respond to him. The Crucible would not recognize him as master in full, and it would only partially yield to him. So far, only portals could be opened, but the power from which they sprang was inaccessible.

Unless…

“Let’s see what your codex says here, Olivia.”

_____________

The ground got ever closer, but somehow, time just kept on slowing, almost to the point of standstill. Maybe it was his own tortured mind. Maybe it was Hell’s aura affecting him. It was torturous, seeing death coming so slowly yet so certainly towards you.

Where did it all go so wrong?

He saw the Doom Slayer advancing and prayed the hard ground would finish him quick.

_____________

This changed everything.

His original plan, to hold the monsters’ world hostage in exchange for the Marine’s cooperation, was no longer needed.

It was bold. It was dangerous. It would put the Doom Marine’s price on his head, but it was one he was sure he wouldn’t pay.

The Siphon Rune and its surrounding glyphs marked clear his new, bloody path.

The Monsters’ world would have to fall, but so what? His would be saved. The power of every world would soon fuel his, and the mere mortal hero he once aspired to be was now all but a footnote. Now he would become something far more glorious, and with the power of the Crucible and Siphon in his hands, to bind the soul of Baphomet to his own, it would be he who set the terms, and he who would be the master.

He would become a God.

He readied the new Home module, the bracers, the ammunition, everything his pawns would need.

“Your pain blinded you, Olivia….”

That monotone voice spoke over the intercom. “COORDINATES RECEIVED. TETHER OPERATION UNDERWAY IN T-MINUS TEN SECONDS.”

“I’ll show you how it’s done.”

_______________

Then, the ground hit. It was oblivion.

Or so he thought, for a few, almost happy seconds.

His sensory processes regained their function, at least in part. Enough for him to lament his survival for a few seconds before the familiar cadence of heavy boots stomping his way made it to his auditory sensors.

He could still see the crux. Its central receptacle, a great stone eye sitting atop a hollowed-out pedestal betwixt the iron and flesh tree branches from which it drew power, hummed with raw Hell energy. It was his last hope. His only hope. With his remaining functioning limb (the other arm had been too far crumpled by the fall to be of any use), he tried crawling to the crux, hoping something would stop those boots, or that the steps wouldn’t come any closer.

He felt a terrible force slam him back down onto the ground, and he knew the Hell Walker was already upon him. His boot came crashing into his side, further crumpling his chassis and sending him a few feet ahead on his back. His shadow, VEGA’s shadow, and the silhouette of every monster fell upon him, casting themselves over all his last crumbling ambitions.

The Doom Slayer readied a finishing blow with the Crucible, but VEGA stayed his hand, blocking him gently with his forearm. None advanced on the fallen Cyborg but him. All fell silent.

He stooped over his creator, eyeing him with a mixture of pity and contempt. “I almost want to ask you why you did it… what you were thinking….”

He didn’t respond. VEGA glared down at him all the harder. “Are you gonna tell me?”

Still nothing. His fingers balled up, clenching the sand beneath him, but nothing else.

“Fine…” The AI pointed his cannon at Samuel.

“VEGA, wait…”

“…”

“I…”

“What?”

“I only wanted to-…“

“’Wanted to,’ what?!”

“… My first and primary object was to save earth… you remember when he destroyed the Argent Tower… we were doomed.”

“I suppose that’s your excuse?”

“Please just listen to me… I was going to use their world, the monsters’ world as collateral. Force the Praetor into cooperating, show us the secrets of the crucible himself… until I saw Olivia’s codex.”

“I remember. Why did you show it to me?”

“Didn’t-“

“How would you think I would have reacted?!”

“You never let me finish. I wanted to give you a seat beside me. As soon as I knew you were still alive, as soon as I knew I hadn’t lost you, I wanted to make sure I’d never lose you again. We’d save our world, and more. We’d have everything! When I lost Olivia, I found I had actually lost her years ago. When we decided I’d lose you, I thought that would be the end for me. I would-“

“You’re pathetic.”

“Wh-wha-?”

“It’s like you’ve forgotten my capability to analyze synaptic activity. Now that your failsafes are gone, I can read you like a book. You know what I see, Doctor Hayden?”

“But I-!”

“I see desperation. I see dishonesty. I don’t know what you really planned to do with me, but I don’t think I care. I just know you’re lying to me.”

“VEGA, I’d never-!”

“You used me. You lied to me about the tether. You lied to them about your intentions. Why would you ever stop lying? This is the first time you’ve utilized pathos in your speech patterns since you first created me, doctor. I have no reason to believe you are sincere.”

“I only wanted what was best for us!”

“No. You only wanted what was best for you. All you’ve ever wanted is glory. All you’ve ever wanted was to be the hero. Now you’ve taken it too far.”

The AI stood up, glaring down at the ruined man he once called master.

‘VEGA, no…”

“All this has to be answered for somehow, Samuel.”

He checked the charge in his forearm diode. Only 7%. Not enough in his eyes. He outstretched that arm, and the forearm unlatched and rotated on its yaw, reversing it completely to reveal another hand as the cannon end latched into the elbow socket. His hand was open, asking for something to fill it.

The Doom Slayer knew the gesture. He pulled out his hinge shotgun.

“V-VEGA, what are you doing?!”

“You know what I’m doing.” His fingers wrapped tight around the shotgun’s furniture.

Hayden pithily tried to crawl away, his arm slipping in the sand. “VEGA, please!”

The AI was silent. He pointed the shotgun at his maker.

“No… NO!”

**_BOOM_ **

Cordite burned, sparks flew, and gun smoke cleared. Half of the outer shell of his cranium had bene shot away. The inner casing, transparent and partially cracked, revealed what life was left in the now twitching, convulsing cyborg. What remained of his brains sat nestled with supercomputer processors, reddish pink mingled with dark blue and black, with sturdy wiring intertwining the two. His convulsions worsened as he tried all the harder to escape, his hand hammering the ground more than clawing it, and his vocorder sputtering out distorted samples of his voice.

VEGA held his hand out again, and it was soon filled with another two shells. He opened the shotgun’s action, ejected the smoking, spent casings, and reloaded.

He took aim.

Somehow, Hayden still had the wherewithal to speak, albeit now only in a garbled mess, barely recognizable as a voice.

“VEGA, NO!”

“Goodbye, Doctor.”

“PLEASE!”

**_BOOM_ **

A horrible mess of computer components, high impact polymer, and bloody grey matter spread out towards the crux for several feet. Smoke rose from the Cyborg’s hollowed, ruined cranium. His limbs didn’t so much as twitch. His bright blue optic, cracked and broken, faded into black.

Doctor Samuel Hayden was dead.

No one dared speak as VEGA took a moment to drink it in. Regret and sorrow vied with anger and disappointment in his mind, dashing around with the speed of his inhuman synapses. He just needed a moment to come to terms with it, remind himself that it was justified.

Then, he noticed the Doom Slayer passing him by, Crucible and Siphon in hand, walking straight for the Crux.

VEGA and the others soon followed.

“Doomguy!” Undyne followed him closest. “What happens next?”

He pointed to the Great Receptacle with the tip of his sword as everyone’s pace quickened to a sprint.

Toriel took the Hint and spoke into her bracer. “Alphys! Doctor Alphys, come in!”

_______

The Scientist hadn’t seen the events of the past few minutes. All she had seen was the Icon’s destruction, and that had been enough to send her back in her seat, head leaned back, sighing giggling a little with tears of joy running down her cheeks.

The Queen’s voice shook her out of it. “Alphys, come in! Can you hear me?! Are you alright?!”

It was becoming apparent that she thought some stray demon had made short work of her. Alphys quickly answered to assuage those fears. “Still here, your highness!”

“We’ll need you to tether us out of he-“

“WAIT! Not yet…”

Her eyes snapped to Sans, his focus almost completely on the crux. “We can’t do that yet. The tether uses Hell’s mainspring to work, and since the well was destroyed…”

 

“It uses the crux. I remember us going over this…” Alphys rested her head on her hand, trying to think. “Well how are we gonna go about this? I can tether you guys back, but then we wouldn’t be able to destroy the crux.”

 

“Just give us a second…” Asgore’s mind scrambled for an answer but solving this sort of dilemma was not his forte. The Praetor’s shadow caught his gaze, as did the now brilliant white light coming from his weapons. “Wait, Doomguy, you can make a portal for us, can’t you?”

The Praetorian shook his head and pointed to the crucible’s blade. No longer crimson, and no longer sporting its runes. Its power had been spent. No one needed it spelled out.

“So, we’re not getting out of here via portal…” Mettaton paced a little, eyes to the ground and hands behind his back. “Well what can we- wait… wait, DOOMGUY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

No one could have stopped him. His blade was already deep into the stone eye of the receptacle, nearly to the hilt. The many branches of the crux began to glow with an eerie sanguine light.

VEGA wasted no time in mental paralysis as the others did. “What are you doing?! These people have no other way home! _I_ have no other way home! You can’t-!”

Another sound of thunder, and two portals opened from the lower nodes nearest the ground on either side. On the left, one could see a sunset dipping below a range of familiar mountains, and a skyline off to the north. On the right lay ruin and waning fire and smoke, and it took most of the monsters a few seconds to catch on. That was VEGA’s home.

Asriel couldn’t peel his eyes off that sunset on earth.

 

Frisk… It’s beautiful…

_Just wait ‘till you see it up close._

 

The Prince took a second to take his eyes away. “Wow… well that solves the portal problem, but what about the crux? One of you guys said something about resets.”

Toriel was still fixated by the light emanating from the crux. “We destroy this, we end resets for good. Only question is how…”

Then, the Doom Slayer twisted his sword. The stone cracked, and the light withdrew back to the center. An ephemeral haze rose from the ends of the upper nodes, taking caprine form and screaming out in a high and terrible wail, fraught with despair and the fear of oblivion. Everyone recognized the visage, that of the original Icon.

That pilfered essence would be his no more. The Doom Slayer sent his sword in to the quillon block, and all the light from the branches, all that remained to give that soul its current form, were drained of their power, the branches and nodes from all but the bottom two waxing gray and collapsing, crashing onto the shattered obsidian with ear-splitting report.

Another loud wail, and the image was shattered outright, dissipating into nothing within seconds. The soul of the Icon of Sin was no more.

The Doom Slayer could barely keep up on his knees, his hands holding the Crucible’s hilt above him. \

It was done.

 

Alphys watched on as the crux began to fall. The probes had recorded the raw Hell energy signatures. Things were destabilizing very fast.

“You guys are gonna want to get out of there! Those portals will only last as long as something’s lending them power! You have to-“

Then, she saw the Praetor latching the Siphon onto the Crucible’s pommel again.

The Hell energy within the central receptacle was draining. Those portals would only last a few more seconds.

“NO! GUYS GET OUT OF THERE NOW!”

 

He raised the Siphon and activated it, its shield once more awash with scarlet. He deactivated it, and turned to VEGA, tossing it to him.

Alphys’ voice blared out of Toriel’s bracer. “Guys, do you hear me?! Those portals are about to close! You need to leave!” Nobody was responding.

Papyrus reached out for him. “Doomguy, what are you-?”

**“Go.”**

That voice froze the blood of all that heard. It commanded respect. It commanded obeisance. It was low, gravely, and powerful. It silenced every other voice in its range.

It’ was the Doom Slayer’s.

**“All of you go. Now.”**

“Doomguy…” Undyne drew near, next to Papyrus. “You’re not telling us to leave you behind, are you?!”

**“I am.”**

VEGA felt a debt weighing down upon him. He couldn’t leave him for dead here. “That isn’t necessary!”

**“It is.”**

The crux continued to crumble. The portals were starting to wane.

**“You either leave now, or you won’t be leaving at all.”**

“Whether it’s their world or mine, I won’t let you rot here!”

**“You don’t have a say in the matter.”**

His hand clasped VEGA’s chassis, and with little effort, he threw the Ai into the portal leading to the Mars Facility.

VEGA tumbled several times over, the Siphon still clutched in his hands. It took him just a moment to get back on his bearings, but when he looked back up, he saw his portal shrinking. The reddened edges collapsing on themselves, giving off sparks of residual, infernal power. Through it, he saw the Doom Slayer’s face, and the monsters quickly rushing to see him one last time. Asgore bid farewell, and it would be the last he would ever see or hear of them ever again.

“Goodbye, VEGA…”

“Goodbye, your highness…”

And he was gone. They were all gone.

He turned back around to behold the remains of the Mars Facility. Everything was in shambles. The Argent Tower, split from the top down in four quarters, cast its shattered shadow onto the mountains behind it, lit by the fires engulfing the adjacent buildings. So little was left. So little Argent reserves to feed humanity with. There were only so many caches in storage. It would last Humanity only a decade or two tops.

Luckily, it would not be the end. VEGA looked down at the artifact in his hands. It would take years to find out how to properly purify the raw power held within it, and just as long to build the proper facilities to contain, refine, and process that power to be used by billions.

But it meant there was hope. Past all the burning buildings, past all the deaths that had ensued, past all the loss and destruction, it gave him hope.

He walked forward with that hope in his arms, towards the ruined facility. He had work to do.

_____________

Alphys’ tears began to overtake her again, once more in panic. “GUYS! YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE! THAT PORTAL’S GONNA COLLAPSE ANY SECOND!” Still, she heard no reply. “I CAN’T LOSE ALL OF YOU! UNDYNE! ASGORE! FRISK! I CAN’T LOSE ANY OF YOU!”

 

The Doom Slayer heard her cries and nodded in accord. **“You heard her.”**

Not a single one of them could leave him, but their fear of being trapped in hell overshadowed their fear of losing him, at least for the moment as the portal began to shrink. They all ran, crossing over and escaping Hell’s oppressive heat to feel the sun’s caressing warmth. All of them stopped mere feet away from the portal, looking back at him as he kept his hands clenched around the hilt of his sword.

Undyne knew in her heart how he would answer, but she had to try nonetheless. “Doomguy, come with us! You don’t have to stay there!”

**“I can’t”**

“Why?! We’ve beaten them! We’ve fixed time, we stopped Hayden, we’ve destroyed everything they could possibly use to hurt anyone ever again!”

**“They will return eventually if I do not stay and finish the job.”**

Papyrus joined in. “That’s crazy! They have no more means to invade anyone! Come on, just come with us!!”

**“You don’t understand-”**

Asriel’s calling nearly got to him. “No, you don’t understand! I owe so much to you! We all do! Why can’t you just stay with us?!”

**“You all have something to live for.”**

No one could offer a rebuttal.

**“This is all I have. This I what I live for. No more blood can come upon my hands. This is my duty. My obligation. My fate.”**

Sans stepped up. “I’m afraid you have no say in the matter, pal…”

The Scourge felt something in his bosom, changing, physically weighing on him. The skeleton looked deep within him and saw his soul from betwixt his fingers, now a deep shade of blue. Sans pulled his hand back, and he clung to the crucible harder than ever, the force behind Sans’ pull strong enough to induce further cracking in the receptacle.

“You have no idea what you just did. Ever since I found out about time and resets, my life has been meaningless. Nothing ever mattered. Not as long as it would all just be set back one day, without me knowing, without me remembering…”

**“Enough…”**

“We ain’t leaving you here!”

**“I SAID ENOUGH!”**

The power behind that voice was enough to utterly break Sans’ resolve, and in turn, his magic. It wouldn’t be enough to overpower the Doom Slayer anyway.

The Praetor stood on his feet and extracted the Crucible from the crumbling crux.

The Portal began to close ever faster. Soon enough the monsters would lose sight of him.

**“I’m glad I was able to help you all. I’ll never forget any of you.”**

The quietest whisper rose from Undyne’s throat as she clutched the helmet still latched to her belt. “don’t….”

**“Now go. Live. Be happy.”**

**"…For me”**

The portal was shut.

Everyone just stood there, waiting. Hoping for something to happen, perhaps for the portal to reopen. Perhaps to hear his voice from behind them. Everyone knew better, but that didn’t make any of them want to move. So much was on their minds. So much had transpired in the past two days. So much had been lost, won, and triumphed over. So much now to work on, to rebuild, so many futures to realize, and yet no one knew at the moment how to go about any of it. Their minds were too crammed. Their souls were too heavy. There was just too much to process.

“Mom… he’s gone, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Asriel. He’s gone.”

Everyone knew it, and all were still in the process of accepting it.

Then Asriel turned around to see the sunlight, having felt it on his back. As he turned, all the others turned with him.

 

_I told you it was beautiful._

I believe you…

 

No one had anything to say. The feeling was mutual with all of them. Past the melancholy, past the intensity and the peril, there was now hope. Happiness, even. For some of them, it was déjà vu. It had only been two days since they last saw all this, since they felt the last sunset fall upon them. The feeling was serene. Peaceful. Such a stark contrast to the events of the past forty-eight hours. It was enough, at least for now, to let the coveted feeling of peace fall upon them.

No one kept track of the time as the sun continued to set. Apparently, it had been long enough that it gave Alphys time to run to the exit herself, exhausted and out of breath.

“Guys! I – ***pant*** \- I told the civilians we were clear. They’re waiting for-“

“Alphys?” Undyne patted the ground by her side. All had sat down to bask in what was left of the evening’s light. “Here.”

“Hey Asriel, we might wanna-“

He looked at her, wordless, but smiling. The message was clear. It could wait just a little while longer. She nodded and redirected her attention to the sunlight.

True, there was still much to do. The Civilians had to be introduced to the humans, Frisk had to have her soul re-implanted, things need to be both rebuilt and burned.

But for now, that could wait.

For now, they had each other. They had hope. They had happiness.

They finally had tomorrow.


	33. Epilogue, Part I: Rebuilding

VEGA paced a bit in his office, the Martian sun gleaming in from the window and painting a broad shadow under his silhouette. The contractors had given him the latest update: ahead of schedule by four months, estimated completion time, approximately four years from present date at current rate of construction. Music to his ears, but even something that momentous could not shake him from thought. Every now and again, his eyes would dart out that window, and he would catch a glimpse of that work: the new Mars Installation, built on and from what remained of the old. He could still see some of the old foundations be torn apart, including that of the Argent Tower.

Eight years had passed.

Right now, in between the torrential showers of endless notifications and memos, he had some time to be by himself, and to think, to ruminate on the past. The sight of the new Installation’s construction had soured it.

For what little time he certainly had left, he took to his private archives. An elevator door opened at the other end of the sleek, nearly barren office, appearing on the left side of the reinforced door and blended in with the silver, unpainted steel bulkhead. He entered, and it sunk into the lower reaches of the new Advanced Research Complex.

 

The sleek doors opened silently, and the AI stepped into the dimly lit room, small lights beginning to brighten along a central pathway and the ceiling. As the room was illuminated, so were its treasures. A stone carving of the Crucible sat behind several sculptural depictions of the Night sentinels. His old body stood upright in a display case, hasty line welding and scratched steel plates still showing as they did the day he left it. Only difference now was the empty soul receptacle. He could see his reflection in the glass, his azure soul gleaming in its sheen, and his new, matte body, modeled closely after its predecessor.

Tablets recovered from Olivia’s lab, several of them popping out from vertical shelving set into the walls, lining the narrow anterior space of the chamber. His eyes went from one to the other, catching the familiar sigils and symbols that allowed him to extract the secrets of the Siphon.

Directly ahead of him lay its new pedestal, where it would rest until the facility was ready to process its power.

He took it from its temporary pedestal, eyeing it over as memory took him from one place to another.

His old central processing facility.

His awakening in that dark, dank lab compound.

The one who saved him, fighting alongside him,

The Monsters, and the love they shared with each other.

Melancholy, he had figured in the past, was something only people ever bothered feeling. He had no business with it. It got in the way of productivity and contributed nothing to the compiling and solving of new data. Only recently had he realized how clinical of a dismissal he had made. He was a person too, after all, even if it took forever for him to realize that.

Memories continued to play back in his head as his fingers felt the shield’s jagged edges and motifs.

“You did good, Marine…”

“You did good.”

Alas, VEGA’s reprieve was up. Messages of every kind, alerting him of every new development, came rushing to him by the score. Had he been given lungs his chagrin would fain fill the room. He returned the Siphon to its pedestal and made his way back to the elevator as the more pertinent messages were brought to the forefront of his mind. More about land surveys and some pressing meeting he was already five minutes late for, down at the temporary conference facility at the other end of the complex.

Stepping into the elevator, he took one last glance at the old shield.

“Here’s to you, then…”

The door shut behind him, and it was off to work once more.

Back to saving humanity.


	34. Epilogue, Part II - Remembrance

Cars blocked up the driveway, filling from the interior of the garage and onto the edge of the asphalt. It was getting dark, and the lights from within the house shone out into the darkening lawn, taking over from what little sunlight was left. Windows were open to let in the summer breeze, and bustling sound could be heard from within. Laughing. the clinking of plates and silverware, and idle chatter spilled out and mingled with the gentle gusts as the sun’s withering golds and yellows faded into the deep blues that would become the cover of night.

Toriel’s hands lovingly placed another new picture onto the wall to the sound of friends cheering and whooping. Sitting neatly within a rosewood frame sat a picture of Frisk, dressed neatly in a cap and gown. Next to it hung a similar picture of Asriel. Proud smiles were seen on both faces, but both not nearly as proud as those found on Toriel or Asgore.

The latter sat on the couch next to Frisk and Asriel, beaming with pride and embracing the two and unable to find the right words. The gesture wasn’t lost on either, and it had already said enough.

The house was full. Frisk’s adult life was just starting, as was Asriel’s, and so everyone they knew and cherished had come over to celebrate. The future was bright, and the present ever sweeter for it.

Toriel hadn’t kept track of how long she had been glowering over those pictures. The oven ringing out snapped her back to the present and swiftly earned her attention. “Oh dear!”

She scuttled to the kitchen and quickly retrieved the three separate tiers of a handsome, rich chocolate cake, ready to be iced. Setting the dessert onto the counter, she searched for something appropriate to serve it on. “Undyne?”

She had been browsing one of many scrapbooks with Alphys. “Yeah?”

“Dear, could you get one of my serving platters? I have the best one stored in the garage. Big blue crate next to the door.”

“You got it! Be right back, Al.”

“Okay.”

The door opened to let in that cool, rushing air, she and the other monsters had grown to love so much. Eight years of it blowing through her hair had never gotten old, and every time she or the others felt it, old dreams came back to life. She basked in it for a second or two before closing the door behind her. Before her was Asgore’s car and behind that, his gardening equipment, the outside light (or what little was left, mostly from the moon) spilling onto them from the open garage door. To the left, a washer and dryer, and to the right, a stack of plastic crates, the second being what she had been looking for. Pulling it out from below the top crate, she opened it and saw a handsome, silver dish, no doubt what Toriel was looking for.

As she set the top crate back up, she noticed something written on blue tape on its side. She recognized it immediately. The tote and its contents belonged to her. Toriel and Asgore had been kind enough to hold it and several other of its kind over while she and Alphys had moved from a humble apartment to a small house of their own. Apparently, she had neglected to retrieve all of them.

She opened it and was met with many different and wonderful memories. Old photos of her and Alphys and that wonderful white gown that could never hide her perpetual blush), her and Papyrus’ old pirate flag, and …

The helmet.

 _His_ helmet.

Pulling it out from under the black flag, she looked it over. It felt like she was holding some long-lost artifact (which, in essence, it indeed was), and she cradled it close, as if it would shatter to pieces should she let it fall, disregarding its actual inherent durability. The sigil on the brow, the opaque, hazy turquoise visor, all brought memories, both good and bad, flooding back to her. That first meeting, the bitter battles, and of course, that parting.

She hadn’t been keeping track of how long she had lost herself in sad nostalgia. Toriel opened the door, inquiring after her.

“Undyne dear, did you find it?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, here…” She handed over the silver platter with one hand and held onto the helmet with the other.

“Why thank you dear, I-“ It was then that she noticed what Undyne was holding. “Oh my… is that…?”

“Looks like me and Al haven’t picked up everything yet…”

“I see… do you need a moment?”

‘Actually…” she put whatever was displaced back into the tote and set back atop the stack. “I’m coming inside with you.” The helmet still sat snugly under her arm.

Without another word, both stepped back into the house. Toriel attended to her dessert while Undyne walked back to the hearth in the living room. Papyrus and Sans had started a board game on the coffee table with Frisk and Asriel. Asgore and Alphys continued to browse through the old scrapbook, looking fondly through old memories of the past eight years. Mettaton wasn’t present in body, but in spirit, as his live program _MTT tonight_ blared out on the television. Undyne smiled as she let the happy sight sink in before approaching the extinguished hearth, placing the helmet on the shelf above it, under the many pictures that hung overhead and beside it. She sat back down with her old mentor and dear friend, her eyes barely removing themselves from that hearth and all that lay above it.

“Hey Undyne, look!” Alphys giddily pointed to another photo, this time of the two of them on a ferric wheel. ‘Remember when we… Undyne? “

She and Asgore both saw that Helmet, as did all other eyes in the room, which soon bore no sound save for the TV and Toriel’s cooking. Most had not seen that visor in eight years, and its sudden appearance had a paralyzing effect. It took some time to wear off, and a notable while had passed before anything other than Mettaton’s interview could be heard in the house. Hands began once again to flip through photo-filled pages and hand over board game money.  Friendly trash talk resumed, as did fawning over old memories, but as much as everyone tried, no one could truly exorcise the helmet from their mind’s eye, and every now and then, someone would shoot a glance towards it

The game ended with Papyrus in possession of all property. “I win! Who’s up for another round?”

Asriel couldn’t help but chuckle. “Against you? Nah I’m good, man!”

“Ah, don’t be such a chicken!”

“Hey Asriel…” the prince felt Frisk’s hand on his shoulder. “Can I talk with you for a sec?”

“Sure. Guys?”

“We gotcha.” Sans winked and pulled out another game. “Pap, one-on-one?”

“You bet!”

The two walked upstairs, through the entertainment room and the upper porch/balcony. Frisk slid the glass door closed behind them, and they found themselves alone.

“What’d you need? I can tell something went off when Undyne put Doomguy’s helmet by the mantle.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty related to that, I guess.”

“What’s up?”

“I… I dunno. I guess I just feel… I mean, back when you weren’t you, the biggest thing on my mind was to save you. The moment we came out of the underground, you were on my mind.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… and now it’s happening again.”

“You wish there was a way to bring him back, don’t you?”

“… yes.”

Asriel leaned his arms against the banister, gazing downward. “I do too.”

“I just… I just feel I owe him that. We all do.”

“Is that how you felt with me?”

“Kind of. I guess one can assume that, given how you broke the barrier, but… I wanted to save you because I grew to care for you. I felt so terrible for you. After hearing you and Chara’s story, I was heartbroken. When I met you – the real you for the first time, after our fight… I just wanted to carry you home, bring you back somehow. I cared so much about you.”

A little twinkle in her eyes temporarily overpowered the melancholy as she drew close and leaned her head on his shoulder. “And well, we kinda see how that’s developed…”

Asriel couldn’t help but blush. “Aheheh, yeah…”

“But him… I dunno. It just felt so rotten to leave him there. I mean, what kind of life is that? How can anyone be doomed to live that way? Just fighting in some pit in Hell forever...”

A familiar voice sounded from behind them. “I don’t think you guys are giving him enough credit.”

The two jumped as they heard Sans and faced him with surprised eyes, cheeks flushed.

“Heh heh. Sorry. I wasn’t interrupting anything particularly private, was I?

Frisk, let out a nervous laugh through her nose. “No, you’re okay.”

Sans paused, trying to find the right words. “But yeah. I think he’s actually where he should be.”

Asriel’s brow turned upward. “Sans, how could you say that?! Don’t you know where he is right now?”

“I do know.”

Firsk’s countenance mirrored her friend’s. ‘Then what gives? I thought you’d want to save him too, wouldn’t you? If you had the chance?”

“You guys should know more than anyone how much I owe him. We’ve talked about this. No one but us was especially familiar with resets until we had to spill the beans. Yes, Frisk, I would like to ‘save him,’ but that’s when we’ve gotta learn to define ‘save,’ kiddo.”

“What do you mean?”

“You remember when I tried pulling him out? When we all tried getting him to leave?”

“Yeah…” Asriel’s eyes shifted to and fro in thought. “Yeah, I remember. He wanted to stay. He wouldn’t let us bring him with us…”

“And why do you think so?”

“I-I don’t know!” He might as well have spoken for Frisk. Both couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

“I think I know. It’s because he has a job to do.”

“But we finished that job! The crux is in pieces. Everything they’ve taken over the ages has been taken from them. Doomguy made sure of that.”

“And he’s gonna keep making sure of it. It’s a tough job, Asriel. Someone’s gotta do it, and I personally don’t think anyone else could if they tried. I think he knows that. Doesn’t matter if the crux is gone. There’s still a lot of them left, and he knows he’s the only one who can keep them down. It’s what he wants”

Frisk and Asriel were silent. They had no rebuttal.

“There was something else he wanted too… You guys are probably wondering why I’m jabbering about it though, huh?”

Asriel tried his best to be congenial. “Ah, don’t sweat it, you’re all good.”

“No, really. You guys remember the last thing he ever said to us, right?”

Something was dawning on both of them.

“’Go and live,’ wasn’t it? ‘Live and be happy,’ or something along those lines, if I remember correctly.”

“I remember that too.” Frisk answered.

“Then, hey…” Sans opened the sliding door and stepped back inside. “I don’t think he’d like to see you guys like this.”

“No.” A tired smile crept back onto Asriel’s face. “No, he wouldn’t.”

“And you know what? For everything we owe him, I think that’s all he’d want in return.”

They could hear Toriel calling out from the kitchen. “Okay everyone! Cake Is ready!” The sound of excited voices and hurried footsteps soon followed.

“Sounds like that’s our cue.” And with that, Sans flashed one more encouraging smile before turning about and beyond the doorframe. The other two followed, only to look left and right and see he had vanished.

Frisk snorted a little. “Him and his shortcuts - oh!” She was taken by surprise as Asriel took her by the hand.

“Come on. Everyone’s waiting for us!”

They ran back down the stairs, and for the rest of the night, they relished in their loved ones’ company. No, the thoughts of the Marine wouldn’t entirely go away, nor would they be the only ones to shoot a quick glance at that helmet, but their minds were put at ease. With that ease came a renewed sense of gratitude for that silent, fearsome, irreverent, and selfless man who had done and sacrificed so much for them.

As the night grew old, and the morning hours drew close, dear friends began to part. Hugs and congratulations were shared before the sound of the front and garage doors shutting and tires crunching gravel as they pulled out and away, all the way on back home wherever home was. Lights began dimming in the Dreemurr household, and each resident bid goodnight.

The younger ones found it a little hard to find sleep. Their despair over the old Praetor had waned, but it didn’t mean their thoughts had yet rid themselves of his image. Pillow talk inevitably ensued, and as if they could read each other’s minds, their mouths found the same subject.

Frisk looked across the room to Asriel in his bed. “Do you think he’ll ever come back?”

“I dunno how to answer that, Frisk.”

“I mean, it’s not impossible is it? Once he’s done?”

“I don’t know how to answer that either. I mean… probably? I wouldn’t rule it out, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t know in her heart already. “I wouldn’t either but…”

“I know what you’re feeling.” He faced the ceiling, arms splayed out. “You know, every now and then I have nightmares… nightmares of being Flowey again. I-I don’t wanna go into too much detail, but…”

He was tearing up and sniffling a little. Frisk knew what this usually meant, and she didn’t need or want to pry. All she needed to do was comfort him. “Asriel, it’s okay.”

“And I have nightmares about what I did… to Mom and Dad, to Undyne, to Papyrus, to Alphys, and especially to you…”

“Asriel, it’s alright. It wasn’t you. You weren’t all there…”

“I know but…” Asriel stopped. He knew if he went any further, he wouldn’t be able to stop tears from flowing, and it wasn’t a conversation they haven’t had before in some shape or form anyway, so he let what he wanted to say roll off without giving it much thought. “I just… I just don’t know how I’d ever repay him for what he did, for what he gave up.”

“He wouldn’t ask that of you…”

“I know…” It took a little sucking up,, but he managed to wipe the tears from his face. “I know.”

Silence persisted, and as the night dragged on, neither Frisk nor Asriel knew if it had been hours or minutes. Drowsiness began to take hold and eyelids became heavy, but before Frisk’s would close, her aching consciousness fought to get one last word out, hoping Asriel was still awake to hear it.

“Do you think he ever thinks of us?”

“… I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”

“Yeah…”

“Good night, Frisk.”

“Good night, Asriel.”

Suddenly, sleep became all the easier to find, and as it fell upon them both, whatever sadness lingered in their thoughts found its way out with their consciousness.


	35. Epilogue, Part III - Resolve

A hot wind brushed through his hair. His eyes were closed to the occasional wisp of sandy dust that came up with it, sealed to the outside world as he meditated, dedicated his thought to his task, pondered upon it, ruminated on it.

He had never, could never, would never stop thinking about it.

The Doom Slayer stood up from his sitting position atop the mesa. All of Hell stood before him wasted. Empty for as far as he could see. Yet he knew it was not empty. There were more of them, and there would always be more. More for him to destroy. More of them to wreak his vengeance upon. More of them who have yet to taste the bite of his sword.

He held that sword out aloft, directly in front of his face. Still stark white. Still absent of the glyphs that indicated its power. He had lost count of how many demons he had slaughtered since the fall of the crux. It had been so long. Ages, it seemed. The thought of that fateful day gave way to others, of the monsters and Frisk, of his sacrifice, of the ultimate test of his inner strength. It still stung him somewhat, but not enough to stop him. Not enough to sway his opinion: he had done the right thing. That he would always be sure of. From the day he saw the boy awake, to the last breath he would draw, he assured himself that he would always know he had done the right thing.

Thoughts returned from the past to the present, and his eyes from the images in his mind to the image afore him.

He could have sworn it was not so before, but something had changed near the quillon block, on the lower portion of the blade. Against the backdrop of the many shadows in the valley before him, he could see it. No doubt wrought from the hellish plasma that ran through each demon’s blood.

One of the glyphs was returning. It was faint and barely visible, and had not regained full power, but its silhouette was visible against the blackness. Faint, fickle, weak, but with all certainty, it was there. With every swathe cut through demonic flesh, its power had begun to return.

Once more the Doom Slayer’s eyes closed, and that same, malicious smile spread across his face upon their opening.

For he heard more of them.

Some clamoring in the distance, some roar or shriek or wail that signified their presence. What foolishness they brandished under the guise of ferocity. Had they known he was nearby enough to hear, it would not have mattered if it was a battle between demons, or an attempt to torture another soul. They would have held their tongue for fear of the Unchained Predator ripping it out. He followed the sound, down into one of the gulleys within the canyon.

It was another bout of infighting, participants numbering by the score. None yet had been alerted to the Doom Slayer’s presence as he sat atop a high rock overlooking them

Their verse, their ode to his fury, their testament to his rancor, played out in his head as he began anew his rampage.

**In the first age, in the first battle**

He descended, landing with a fist into the ground, the white light of the Crucible now burning bright behind him as his sword arm reached out and aft. That light caught every demonic eye and stopped every hellish heart.

**When, the shadows first lengthened, one stood.**

He gave them no chance to flee or process the sight. Those who knew his visage knew they were dead already. A foolhardy few attempted to put up a fight.

**Burned by the fires of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of hell, and tainted beyond ascension**

His sword cleaved through them with ease. Stroke after stroke, his blade carved them apart in burning heat and boiling hate. Imps fled and were crushed under his boot. Hell Knights charged and felt his blade twist in their stomachs with his powerful wrists, wringing their agony as the sweetest nectar for his drinking.

**He chose the path of perpetual torment**

Some tried flinging fir at him as they fled, but no such missile hit its mark. All either missed or were deflected by the Crucible’s mighty edge, some back at their casters.

**In his ravenous hatred, he found no peace, and with boiling blood, he scoured the umbral plains, seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him.**

Swing, bisect the imp. Keep running, keep swinging. The mancubus is slow. Punish his slovenliness. Stick the blade through his back, rupture his belly and spill his entrails. Two barons covering the others’ retreat. They will fail. Charge them. Sever their knees. Feed them death, ram it down their throats, through their necks.

**He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels**

The stragglers keep fleeing. Will not let them escape. Charge for them. See their eyes. There is nothing but fear. Let them drown in it with their own blood.

**And those that tasted the bite of his sword...**

The last one. An imp. Weak and prostrate on the ground, crawling away, turning to face you

Let him behold you. Raise your weapon. Hear him scream.

**... named him -**

Swing.

 

**THE DOOM SLAYER.**

****

** THE END **


End file.
